Back in New York
by Kavi Leighanna
Summary: It all starts with coffee and Broadway. Lanie/Esposito, part of the Around the World Universe.
1. Say Thank You with Dinner

**Back in New York**

_Chapter 1_

Say Thank You with Dinner

. . . . .

Doctor Lanie Parish – ME extraordinaire if she did say so herself – hummed a little to herself as she efficiently stitched up the Y-incision on her latest autopsy. Her notes lay on a small table beside her, fully filled out and waiting for Detective Rice to pick them up whenever he decided they were necessary. Four similar files sat behind her on a table waiting for their respective detectives, but none of the files were for the man who came strolling through her doors.

"Detective," she greeted Javier Esposito, unable to stop the upward curving of her lips. Since Kate's shooting three weeks ago and their return to New York fourteen days before, he'd been dropping by her morgue quite often. And that was a simple statement of fact, not a reflection on whether or not she liked it.

"Doc," he replied, weaving his way towards the body she was finishing with. He slid a take-away cup on the little table Rice's file was on and this time, Lanie couldn't stop the full smile that spread across her face. Every time he dropped by, he brought her coffee. She was starting to get used to it.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" She tied off her stitches and snapped off her gloves, reaching up behind her to untie the strings of the gown she wore. But, much to her utter shock, he was there first, batting her hands out of the way and making quick work of the bows she'd tied.

"Can't a guy just bring coffee?" he teased, stepping away from her.

Lanie balled the gown up with her gloves, depositing them in the garbage. Then she stepped back, picking up her coffee and taking a whiff. "When he makes a special trip for it?" she asked having too keen of a nose not to pick up on the fact that this coffee didn't come from the station. "It's bribery."

He grinned and Lanie cursed the butterflies that started swirling in her stomach. "Okay, I may have a favour to ask."

"I'm listening," she replied, sipping her coffee and leaning against her autopsy table.

"Mrs R gave Ryan tickets to a Broadway show last week for everything…"

Lanie just nodded. It was still a little uncomfortable for them to discuss Kate's shooting. They'd been inches from losing her.

"Anyway, Ryan asked for an extra one for Jenny and, well…"

"Conned you into a double date," she filled in, her amusement growing with every second. Javier had an aversion to Broadway. Hell, an aversion to most things that had the potential of emasculating him. She made a mental note to ask Ryan what he'd said or done to convince Javier to attend a Broadway performance.

"Well, you're half right. I don't have a date."

Her eyebrow shot into the air. "_That's_ your favour?"

"Why not?" he replied with a shrug. "I figure, we enjoy each other's company, probably keep each other sane through the whole thing."

Admittedly, Lanie didn't like Broadway much either. Sure, she liked a good flick every now and again, but Broadway? Nuh uh. She'd much rather go party in a club, thanks, and even then, those nights were few and far between. If she was looking for a way to cool down from a long day, she actually preferred the late-night infomercials, if only because her mother had watched them when she was a child. It had become her habit as much as it was her mother's.

Still, she narrowed her eyes playfully. "What do I get?"

"Besides my charming company?" Javier shot back and Lanie rolled her eyes. "A night on the town, even if it is Broadway."

She paused, thinking then blurted, "Am I getting dinner out of this deal?"

Shock spread over his face, and he masked it just shy of her awareness of it. "Don't know," he replied. "I'll check with Ryan and get back to you?"

"Sure thing," she nodded, hoping her attitude was back where it was supposed to. She sipped at her coffee. He was watching her, oddly, as if she'd said something she shouldn't have. Eventually, though, the corner of his mouth tilted upwards.

"I'll call you with more info."

Lanie smirked. "You do that." Then she nodded to the table two down from hers. "I'll call you when I'm done carving up your guy like a turkey."

"That's just wrong, Doc." But a true smile played around his lips and Lanie had to hide her own behind her coffee cup. "I'll see you."

"Thanks for the coffee," she called after him. The door swung shut on his acknowledging wave and Lanie found herself taking a deep breath, a little bit in confusion, a little bit in unmitigated glee. He'd asked her out. Sure, it was on a double date with his best friend and it was a last minute choice, but he had, for all intents and purposes asked her out. Which was the cause of the butterflies in her stomach, but also her confusion. Sure, they flirted, they flirted constantly but things had changed since their time in Miami. And part of Lanie really wasn't totally sure if she liked the changes.

* * *

When Lanie's name flashed on his caller ID the next day, Javier felt something twist in his chest. "Good morning, Doctor Parish."

"Good morning, Detective." He could hear the warm smile in her voice and he felt his face move to echo it.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked, leaning back in his chair, propping his feet on his desk. Ryan was watching him with an arched eyebrow, but he ignored it.

"The lab came back with trace and DNA and I have the autopsy report on your vic," Lanie replied, tone suddenly all business. It floored him, that she could do that kind of a one-eighty with no warning. Reminded him a little of Beckett, actually.

"Did you find anything?"

"You know I did," she replied her attitude back again and he grinned. "Say thank you with gifts."

"How about I say thank you with dinner?"

"Dinner?" Lanie sounded curious, and something else that Javier couldn't put his finger on.

"Dinner and Broadway. Ryan said he's taking Jenny out and extended the invitation. You still in?"

She huffed out a sigh. "You owe me, you know." He heard her grumbling something about plays and manipulative partners that made him chuckle as they hung up.

Ryan had an eyebrow in the air. "You invited Lanie?"

"Bro, if you're going to make me suffer through Broadway, I'm gonna bring someone I know is going to be entertaining. No reason to be bored by the show _and_ the date."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew they'd been wrong. He saw the glee light up his partner's eyes. "Date, huh?" Ryan questioned with a smirk. "Does the good doctor know this is a date?"

"Dude, seriously?" Javier said, looking away. "This is Lanie."

"You think I haven't noticed the texting? And the teasing? I'm a detective."

"Then maybe you should do more detecting and less assumin'," Javier shot back as he stood. "Beckett'll shoot us both if she comes back and you've taken on Castle's role of writing fiction."

"It's not fiction if it's true." There was a gleeful look on Ryan's face as he took in his partner's uncomfortable demeanour. He wasn't blind, he'd noticed the texting, he'd noticed the teasing, and he'd caught the two of them while Lanie cried her eyes out in Miami. He'd seen the look on his partner's face, how upset he'd been that the ME was crying. There was something there, and Ryan knew it.

"Then it's fiction," Javier responded, trying not to roll his eyes. "Come on, Lanie's got somethin'."

Ryan's smirk grew. _Fiction my ass_, he thought to himself. He just wondered if the good doctor and his partner would be as bad as Castle and Beckett.

* * *

_Kay, so not actually the fic I wanted to start, but we go where the muse takes us, right? Plus, Hamptons starts at least 2 months after this, so I have time while Alexis, Rick and Kate give me a massive headache. They're making me write Hamptons backwards. Lanie and Esposito were a little more accommodating, though not by much. _

_This is part of the Around the World series. And I'm hoping the only story to take place in New York. It will run along side the Hamptons eventually so I want to be where I can post both at the same time. There will be stuff alluded to in this story that'll be covered in the Hamptons and vice versa, but I'll indicate in both the chapters you should read when we get there. For example, I know there's a phone call Kate's going to make in Hamptons that won't be in that story, but will be in this one. But again, I'll let you know when we get there, which is a while yet. _

_For those of you that follow Memoir and are reading this, we're in a little bit of a jam at the moment, but it should work itself out, and hopefully soon. Be patient with us._

_And be patient with me. I know this isn't Caskett, and I promise I'll try and get the Hamptons or something else up as soon as possible, but I can't do anything until my characters decide to cooperate. _

_Tell me what you think of this start though? It's my first time tackling someone other than Kate and Rick in a romantic capacity and I'm admittedly a little nervous. Hence the rambling. _

_Thanks in advance!_


	2. Non Date Interrupted

**Back in New York**

_Chapter 2_

Non-Date Interrupted

. . . . .

As she climbed in the cab that would take her to the restaurant for dinner four days later, Lanie couldn't help but be thankful that she'd remembered to text Javier that she'd meet them at the restaurant. Her last autopsy had run later than she'd anticipated thanks to some rush lab work that needed to go through and she'd had to change at the lab rather than at home. But, being used to the constant unpredictability of her job, she'd prepared by bringing everything with her. She'd chosen a simple black dress, both a date favourite and just shy of formal. She'd curled her hair that morning and she'd only had to touch it up in the bathroom.

Now, she was virtually bouncing in the seat of the cab as it drove through the New York traffic. Honestly, Lanie wasn't one hundred percent sure of how she felt about the night ahead of her. In the week since Javier had asked her to come along, she'd talked to him every day, both case and non-case related. That was how he'd passed on the information that dinner was included in their foray into the New York nightlife. During those days she'd managed to convince herself that the night was truly a date and tell herself that it was utterly ridiculous to consider it as such a thing.

They were coworkers, friends at best, but even she wasn't stupid or blind. She recognized the changes and shifts that had been happening. Kate had started sending the boys down for their information more and more – something Lanie kind of attributed to Castle and his unique ability to get the woman to go home and lighten her load every once in a while – and so coworkers had turned to friends. Friends that teased and poked fun. But Lanie had noticed that even the tone of their teasing had changed over time. And she wasn't blind to the man's physique. Their teasing had long been playful before they were informed they would be going to Miami and Lanie had been more than pleased to see the double-take he'd done when she'd joined their little party before the premiere.

Then Kate had been shot. Her entire focus had been on her friend at the time, focused on ensuring the detective was as stable as they could make her before the paramedics came with actual equipment, but after that… After her part had been finished she'd deflated a little. But when Javier had made it to the hospital on the heels of Castle, he'd reached out and squeezed her shoulder and her insides had settled enough for her to keep a cool head about her. He'd been sweet, sincere and caring while Kate was in the hospital, stoic even though she knew that the possibility of Kate dying made him just as uncomfortable as it made her. And he hadn't said anything when she'd broken down at the Miami Dade police station.

And now he brought her coffee. They texted too, both about the cases and about nothing at all. Just the other day she'd shot him a message complaining about Perlmutter's latest and greatest quirk, just because. She'd asked herself what it meant from time to time, but never had the answer been quite as important as it was now. Now, she was presented with a different situation. Ryan was bringing his girlfriend, so what did that mean for her? Was this a date or had Javier really just asked because they were both friends that disliked Broadway enough to laugh at mocking comments along the way?

Lanie shook her head savagely. Why was she analyzing it? He was a good friend, or at least someone who was turning into a good friend. She was getting ahead of herself in worrying about whether or nor Javier had meant this to be a date and she was going to analyze herself into a nervous tizzy if she kept it up.

But when she saw him waiting outside the restaurant in a suit with no tie, her stomach jumped traitorously.

"Detective," she greeted with a slightly tired smile after paying the cabbie. Her stomach flopped again when he offered a hand to help her out of the cab.

"Doc," he responded. "Glad to see you made it."

"I'd've been here earlier but-"

"Work," Javier finished, his mouth twitch up. She'd sent him a text that she was going to be running behind.

She smiled. "Exactly." It had been a long time since her company understood that some things just got in the way. "Ryan?"

"He and his girl are already inside. I told them I'd wait for you."

Lanie hoped she wasn't blushing as he used the hand he still held to tug her along behind him. She followed, a grin spreading quickly over her face when they reached the table and Ryan stood to greet her with a kiss on the cheek as Javier pulled out her chair. She shot them both approving looks as she settled in.

"Look at you two," she teased. "All gentlemanly off duty." She smiled at the blond already seated. "Lanie Parish."

"Jenny Knight," she responded with a bright, ready smile. Lanie could see why Ryan liked her and smiled as said detective's hand came to rest on the woman's on the table. Jenny cocked her head to the side. "You work with the NYPD, right?"

"Something like that," Lanie replied. Her job wasn't usually a hot topic of conversation and she'd become terribly used to playing it down and avoiding talk about it.

Thankfully, Javier seemed to pick up on it and changed the topic quickly. Conversation flowed light and easy over dinner between all four of them. Even discovering Javier had paid for her dinner while she and Jenny had gone to the bathroom couldn't really ruin her night. In fact, it made her heart beat just a little bit faster and had her mind spinning, despite her self-promise to avoid analyzing what was going on.

_He told you he'd say thank you by buying dinner_, she reminded herself as she took her seat again, forcing herself away from any other reason for paying. It was so much safer.

When they stepped out into the warm New York air, Javier offered her his arm for the walk to the theatre. She took it with a pleased smile.

"I'm impressed, Detective," she said with a little laugh. "Though I still don't know how you talked me into this."

He laughed with her. "I can't believe Ryan got me to agree," he admitted ruefully.

"How _did_ he do that?" Lanie asked with a mischievous grin. "Just so I know how best to get you to agree to my every whim."

"You know, I'm not quite sure myself," Javier lied. He knew exactly what had drawn him to Ryan's offer and it was the easy-going atmosphere it presented. He'd been angling for a way to ask Lanie out for a while and Broadway offered the perfect buffer to see if dating could actually work without the pressure. They both hated Broadway and he hadn't been lying to Ryan when he'd said that he wanted to invite Lanie along because he already knew he enjoyed her company.

But it was more than that. He'd noticed Lanie from the beginning. It was hard not to. If you didn't notice her by looks, her attitude came across loud and clear within the first moment of meeting her. Javier appreciated that attitude and her sharp intellect. Working with her was always a pleasure and it had become more so since they'd become friends. He liked seeing her smile when he brought her coffee, liked seeing her ID pop up on his phone. But Lanie was intimidating and he didn't want to go on an honest to goodness date with her and screw up their friendship. Ryan's offer had been the perfect cover.

And so far, he liked to think it was working. Joking and laughing at dinner had been second nature and if he'd touched her more often than usual, she didn't seem to mind. And she hadn't commented when she'd returned from the bathroom to find he'd paid for her dinner, just arched an eyebrow with a small smile playing about her lips. He was already having fun and he attributed a lot of that to the ME's presence.

"The things we do for partners, I guess," Lanie said with a grin, bringing his attention back to their walk. And just in the nick of time as she stumbled over an uneven sidewalk block. He had quick reflexes though and he stepped in front of her smoothly, catching her as she caught herself against him.

"First day on the new feet there, Doc?" he teased, righting her again, his hand sliding down to cup her hip.

Her laughter was just dying on her lips as she looked up at him and he cursed himself. This was supposed to be a trial date. Heck, Lanie didn't even know it was a trial date and looking at her now, he wanted to kiss her. He was leaning in, he knew he was leaning in, when Ryan's voice broke over the hustle and bustle of the street.

"You guys coming? We're going to be late!"

Javier just barely managed to refrain from clearing his throat as he offered her a smile and his arm again. They walked the rest of the way in a comfortable if charged silence and settled into their seats for the first act. If his stomach jumped a little every time she murmured a sarcastic comment in his ear, he ignored it.

It wasn't until the intermission that fate threw a wrench in her good night.

Javier's phone went off first, and he apologized as he stepped away to take the call, taking the warmth of the arm he'd wrapped around Lanie's waist with him. He sighed when he returned and he knew Lanie could tell by the look on his face that the news wasn't good. He felt her purse vibrate and though they now had work to do, he couldn't help but feel a little lighter knowing she was going to be working the case with them.

"West 129th and Amsterdam," she murmured.

"Same."

"I have to go by the lab," she said, looking down at herself. "Damn. I was having a good time too."

Yeah, he knew that feeling. It was the only thing he hadn't wanted to deal with, the one thing he'd hoped above all else wouldn't ruin his night.

They had a body.

* * *

_Much to my surprise, I don't have much to say. Except to say I've appreciated the feedback so far. Really and truly. They made me smile._


	3. Murder, Coffee, Dinner

**Back in New York**

_Chapter 3_

Murder, Coffee, Dinner

. . . . .

He'd already interviewed the couple that found the body and everyone associated with the crime scene by the time Lanie came strolling out of the apartment onto the rooftop garden. He forced himself to push the date out of his mind and focus instead on their friendship and their work relationship. Even so, he was disappointed to see she'd changed out of the dress. It was a nice dress. Instead, she wore a dark blue jumpsuit, NYPD emblazoned on the back.

"Evening Doc," he greeted as if he hadn't seen her into a cab forty-five minutes ago.

She shot him a wry look, but the sparkle in her eye told him she was willing to play along. "Detective. I just got here, I have no information for you."

Javier grinned as he watched her snap on a pair of latex gloves as she crouched beside the body. "ID?"

"Patience," she scolded as she leaned over the scantily clad woman. Their vic wore an emerald green slip dress, face down in the grass with blood matted in her chestnut brown hair. Lanie did a check of the back of the body for anything interesting before waving him forward and handing him is own pair of gloves. "Help me flip her."

There was a black clutch under the woman's body and Javier leaned down to pick it up. He snapped it open and reached inside, pawing through the contents. "I always feel weird doin' this."

"Is that why you always have Kate go through them?" Lanie inquired, even as her gaze stayed fixed on the body, moving her eyes only as far as her clipboard to jot a few notes down before moving back to the body.

"I'm well-trained," he replied, still going through the contents. Lipstick, gloss, condoms… "I know better than to go through a woman's purse."

"Your sisters?"

He had two, and they'd come up in discussion more than once. He smiled slightly, making an amused noise. Really, he'd learned that lessons from girlfriends, but he felt terribly uncomfortable with telling Lanie that. Finally, he pulled out a driver's license. "Rosalin Nettles. Address puts her as a tenant of the building."

"Swanky digs, if you ask me," Lanie replied, jotting the name down. "Looks like blunt force trauma." She glanced down at the thermometer the beeped at her. "I've got TOD between two and three hours ago."

"Two to three hours puts TOD… somewhere between seven and eight tonight." Javier crouched down beside her. "What brought her up here, dressed like this, when her apartment's just downstairs?"

Lanie raised an eyebrow. "I'm the ME, not the detective."

He chuckled slightly before pushing himself back to standing. "We'll be in touch."

"You can bet on it, Detective."

* * *

Javier pulled the cruiser to a stop in front of a coffee shop the next morning. He and Ryan were on their way back to the precinct after canvassing the apartment building where they'd found Rosalin Nettles, having decided that grumpy tenants weren't worth the hassle the night before. They'd gone home, slept, canvassed, and were now stopping for coffee after their questions had turned up no useful answers.

Ryan sighed heavily as they moved onto the sidewalk. "Here's to hoping Lanie finds something, 'cause we've got nothing, Bro."

Javier jolted slightly at the ME's name, but continued into the shop. "She'll pull through."

"You've got a lot of faith in your girl."

"She's always pulled through for us," Javier responded, then shot his partner a glare. "And she's not my girl."

"That the problem?" Ryan asked with a little smirk, eyeing his partner. The man had been fidgety all morning, something that never happened. Javier was cool, collected, _always_. "You two seemed pretty cozy last night. And you bought her dinner. Screams date, my friend."

"It wasn't a date, it was two friends keepin' each other company through the crap that you forced on me. Dinner was the least I could do considering she agreed to suffer too," Javier retorted. "And who keeps track of that stuff anyway? Your manliness is seriously coming into question, man."

"I don't know. Our good doctor seemed pretty disappointed the night had been ruined." Ryan grinned as Javier's phone rang and he dove for the vibrating device. "Speak of the devil."

Javier glared, even as he hit 'talk'. "Good morning, Doctor Parish."

"It's almost lunch time," Lanie's voice floated over the line.

He checked his watch. "Still early enough to be morning," he informed her. "I'm assuming this isn't a social call."

"'Fraid not," she answered and part of him wondered if there really was an undertone of something akin to disappointment in her voice. "Business call. I have a whole folder of information for you boys."

"And it's not even my birthday," he quipped.

"You just think you're so cute…" she shot back sarcastically.

Javier chuckled. "We'll be downtown in twenty."

"I'll be timing you."

He shook his head as he hung up and studiously avoided Ryan's curious stare when he ordered a latte, no whip and cinnamon, along with his own black coffee.

* * *

Lanie grinned widely as a cup of coffee appeared at her elbow. She flashed that grin at the detective who stood over her shoulder, his partner not far behind. "Well, look at you, bringing me presents."

He grinned back. "I hear you have one for us."

"I have many for you," she replied, pushing herself out of her seat and heading for the body she'd just finished. "Rosalin Nettles died of blunt force trauma to the back of the head. Took a couple of hits to kill her."

"Hesitation?" Ryan asked, his ever-present notebook and pen in hand.

"Could be," Lanie allowed, reaching around Javier for the file she'd left on the metal table. She held in the smile that lifted the corner of her mouth when his body stiffened slightly. At least if she never got closure on whether the previous night had been their first and last date, she knew she affected him. She liked that idea. "Or your guy's not all that strong. She's got defensive wounds on her arms."

"DNA?" Javier asked.

The ME met his gaze, eyes twinkling. "Oh yeah. And lots of it."

"Oh, I'm listening," Ryan said with a grin.

"Well, there were male epithelials under her fabulously manicured nails, but I've got at least three other donors."

Ryan and Javier exchanged a look.

"Define donors," Ryan requested.

"I've got saliva and semen," Lanie replied, checking the notes in the folder. "Multiple donors for both too. From the looks of things our girl had multiple sexual partners just before she died."

Ryan's eyebrow went up. "Are you telling us this girl was in an orgy?"

"Dude, Castle would _love_ this," Javier couldn't help exclaiming. He shook his head as he and Ryan exchanged a look. "We're going to have to go back and talk to all of those tenants."

Ryan nodded, already moving towards the door. Javier hung back, accepting the file of lab results as Lanie made her way back to her coffee. He looked almost nervous and she cocked her head to the side as she picked up the cup.

"Somethin' on your mind, Detective?"

"Actually, Lanie, yeah."

Now she was truly curious. Javier rarely called her 'Lanie', preferring some sort of reference to her medical degree. "Everything okay?"

"I'm thinkin' I owe you," he said. "For Broadway and all. And for our body."

Lanie felt warmth trickle down her nerves. "Our night did get cut off."

"So, I'm thinkin' dinner tomorrow," he said, his voice low.

"I may be able to swing that," she replied, hoping she wasn't blushing.

Javier grinned. "Excellent. I'll call you." He took a few steps, then turned back to her. "See you around, Lanie."

She hid her smile behind her coffee cup. He still brought her coffee and now he'd invited her to dinner. Maybe the previous night had been a date after all. And maybe it had gone so well he wanted another crack at it. Lanie allowed herself to grin as the doors to the morgue swung shut behind the detectives, nervous anticipation swirling though her stomach. It had been a long time since she'd been truly nervous about a date.

Then again, it had been a long time since the prospect of a date with a guy had meant as much.

* * *

_Couple of quick scenes for you guys to get the case off the ground and the next date. Good times. _

_And as you can see, due to sexual references the rating's popped up, but because we're not going to be explicit about it, it shouldn't have to be raised again. _

_Thanks to you guys who are so super excited about the idea of this. It's kind of cool that there's been a whole bunch of people enjoying this. _

_The next one's going to take a couple of days due to the fact that I have a crossover to work on and nothing written for the next chapter. I'll get it up ASAP though because I want to see where I can get on the Hamptons._


	4. I Dare You

**Back in New York**

_Chapter 4_

I Dare You

. . . . .

Lanie forced herself to take a deep breath as she looked into the mirror. Javier would be by her place soon and she had to admit, she was nervous. Tonight, she knew, was a real date. There was no question about it, no ifs, or maybes. There would be no Jenny or Ryan to substitute conversation if it faded and no easy diversions if things started falling apart. Just her and Javier and whatever date idea he'd thought up. She forced herself to breathe as she reached for her cosmetic bag. She was starting to feel the pressure.

First and foremost, they were friends. And their friends were friends. If things went wrong, if it turned out that dating wasn't going to work for them, things were going to get awkward. Not to mention that they worked together on a regular basis. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin their friendship because things got awkward between them. Knowing that she wanted to keep the friendship there added extra pressure on the night.

But Lanie Parish wasn't one to back away from the first sign of difficulty. As a woman who had basically raised her four younger siblings while her parents worked multiple jobs to keep the family afloat, she'd been through her fair share of personal pressure, not to mention the stress of medical school. This, however, was totally different and she knew it. None of those thoughts were comforting her at the moment. She genuinely _liked_ Javier and she really did want the night to go well.

Then again, there was the potential that all of the internal panic was for nothing. Most of the reasons the night was terrifying her were also reasons why the date could be actually fantastic. They were friends, so they didn't have to go through the awkward getting-to-know-you questions, and didn't have to worry about bringing up difficult topics of conversation because they already knew where some of those boundary lines were. She knew and understood being called away for a crime scene and she knew she didn't have to watch what she said about her job. She was comfortable with Javier and as much as it was terrifying, it was comforting too.

That didn't stop her from jumping when he knocked on the door. She put on the best smile she could as she opened the door, making a show of eyeing him from head to toe. "Evening, Detective."

"Back at ya, Doc," he answered with a wide smile.

Lanie preened at the appreciative look in his eyes as he took her in. He'd texted her that afternoon to ask if they were still on and subsequently inform her that the dress code for the evening was casual. So, Lanie had donned jeans to battle the cool June wind and a lightweight pink tank, a sweater tucked in her purse if she got cold. She'd topped the look off with her favourite pair of black heeled boots she'd bought on impulse when she and Kate had gone shopping just after Christmas. Javier had chosen jeans as well and a t-shirt that showcased the muscles of his chest.

Her smile turned a bit more genuine as she caught sight of the bright red flowers. "Those for me?"

"I know I said casual," he replied, holding them out to her with a chuckle, "but my ma would have my head if I didn't bring a girl flowers on the first date."

"So Broadway didn't count?" Lanie cursed herself as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She hadn't meant to say them and she definitely hadn't managed to sound surprised and maybe a little hurt when she did.

But Javier's mouth quirked up in amusement and pleasure and she felt some of her embarrassment fade. "First official date, then."

She knew, despite her best effort, she was blushing. "Come on in while I find a vase."

A few minutes later they were stepping out onto the street, their arms brushing as they walked. Lanie found herself chewing her lip.

"So what's the plan?"

Javier grinned. "You trust me, right?"

"Have you been talking to Castle?" she retorted, her eyebrow rising.

"I can plan a surprise date without Castle's help," he shot back, stepping to the curb to hail a cab.

She shook her head in amusement. "Who says I even like surprises?"

"You'll like this one," he told her, sliding into the backseat of the cab after her.

"You're pretty sure of yourself."

"Nah, just confident in you," he answered with a wide grin.

"In me?" she inquired, a smirk playing about her face. She thanked him when he held the cab door open for her and slid across the back seat. They briefly discussed the case – the boys had discovered their victim was part of a swingers club, explaining the multiple DNA donors and cementing the idea that Castle would have _loved_ the case – as the cab inched through New York's traffic. They pulled up along the edge of Central Park and, after battling quickly over who would be covering the cab fare, Lanie found herself waiting for him on the sidewalk.

He grinned and took her hand when he reached the walk. "Tell me, Doc, how do you feel about street meat?"

It was her weakness, the indulgence she didn't let herself partake in often because of the sheer amount of grease. She matched his grin and his stride as they headed along the street. "I could go for a sausage." With all the fixings.

Javier laughed as they started walking again and Lanie herself wondering if he knew about her weakness. Twenty minutes later, their idle chit-chat had faded with their hot dogs and silence settled over them. She could feel the nerves creeping up in her stomach as the conversation died and she blurted the first thing that came to her mind.

"Truth or dare?"

"I'm sorry?" he asked, taken aback as he crumpled his napkin.

"You heard me, Detective," she replied, injecting sass into her voice again. She felt the butterflies recede as she met his eyes with a sly grin. "Truth or dare?"

Javier considered her a moment before his eyes dilated and a slow smile spread over his face. "Truth."

Lanie paused a minute, thinking. They were friends, but that didn't mean she could just dive into the deep questions. "What was your favourite TV show as a kid?"

"Scooby Doo," he answered after his own moment of thought. He neatly divested her of her own crumpled napkin and headed for a nearby trashcan. When he made his way back to her, he held out his hand and pulled her to her feet. "Your turn. Truth or dare, Lanie?"

Her stomach warmed at the use of her first name. "Truth."

He asked his question – what superhero would she be – and she gave her answer – Catwoman, because she was as much a hero and a villain and it reflected her personality so well – and they continued that way as they wandered through the park. She broke the pattern first, just as they came up to the fountain in the conservatory.

"Truth or dare?"

Lanie felt her lips quirk upwards in her well-practiced smirk. "Dare."

"You sure about that, Doc?" Javier asked, an eyebrow arching upwards.

"Wouldn't have said it if I wasn't sure," she answered, her smirk still playing about the corners of her mouth.

He paused, looking around until his eyes rested on the fountain. "I dare you to put your bare feet in the fountain."

"That's tame," she teased, even as she released the hand he still held to use his shoulder for balance while she removed her shoes and socks.

"I figured with our close ties to the NYPD we should avoid dares Castle would be proud of," he responded, watching her pick her way carefully to the water.

She admitted to herself she was intrigued by the idea that he could come up with dares that would make Castle grin. The writer's devilish streak was legend, to their close-knit group of friends, the NYPD and, more appropriately, the general public. Even so, Lanie laughed as she dipped her toes into the water. It was a terribly logical theory, after all. "So, how long do I have to do this?"

"Until your next turn," he replied easily, picking up her socks and boots where she left them at his feet.

"In which case," she said with a wide smile and a twinkle in her eye. "Truth or dare?"

They learned a lot of little things about each other as the night moved on. Lanie learned he'd been raised on Disney movies and had received first prize in his junior high science fair. Javier learned that, even in heels, and with a boost due to her petite stature, she could climb trees effortlessly and that while she loved all three of her younger siblings, it was her youngest brother, the second youngest overall, that she was closets to and doted on. They continued that way through the park, exchanging stories with new ease.

"You're kidding!" Lanie exclaimed, laughing heartily after Javier recounted a story of Ryan's first day on the job.

"Nah. And you know your girl's reputation precedes her. Did even then," he responded with a wide grin. "Spillin' coffee down her front and on the casefile?"

She burst into laughter again.

Javier was still grinning when her laughter died down. "Your turn."

Her laughter was still in her voice and in her eyes as she chose 'dare'. She saw something spark in his eyes before he stopped, pulling her around to face him.

"I dare you to dance with me, Doctor Parish," Javier challenged.

"Without music?" But sure enough, he started swaying back and forth with her. "I didn't take you for a romantic."

"I'm not," he answered, his grin widening, "but you, Lanie Parish, are."

She blushed.

"You play it off well," he allowed, "but I'm a detective. And you wouldn't have fought so hard for Beckett and Castle if you weren't a romantic."

It hit her then, sharp and quick as lightning, that he'd been watching her, paying attention to her a lot longer than she'd thought. She met his gaze, vaguely aware of the flattered blush sweeping over her cheeks. "You're an observant man, Javier," she murmured.

He shrugged, a little bit of self-deprecation in the movement. "You're an intriguing woman."

They swayed for a few more minutes before he took her hand. A comfortable silence had settled over them for the first time since their night had begun and it stayed that way as they headed out of the park. They didn't say anything in the cab ride back either, though anticipation grew between them, fluttering through Lanie's stomach from tingles in her toes. Their hands stayed entwined for the ride and there was no question when they reached her apartment as to whether or not he was going to walk her to her door. As they walked down the hall and Lanie could see her door coming closer, she broke the silence.

"Truth or dare?"

Javier met her eyes as she made no attempt to go for her keys. "Dare," he answered as they stopped in front of her door.

She faced him head on, her free hand coming to rest on his very well-defined bicep. "Kiss me."

"I didn't hear a dare in there, Doc," he replied with a grin, even as he stepped closer.

She didn't hesitate. "I dare you-"

He didn't wait for her to finish before he lowered his mouth to hers. Lanie wrapped her free arm around his neck as she returned the kiss and his arm wrapped around her back. Heat lanced through her blood, but neither made a move to deepen the contact. He eased back, looking at her, his hand flat against her back, thumb stroking in small circles.

"I had a good time tonight, Lanie."

She chuckled as her hand stroked over his shoulder and down his arm again. She reached into one of the front pockets of her purse, easily extracting her keys. "Me too."

"So," he murmured. "Again?"

Her hand, keys and all since her other was still tangled with his, fell to her hip. "Are you asking me on a second date, Detective?"

"A third, actually," he corrected.

A genuinely happy smile slid across her face, pleasure sliding through her. "A girl can't turn down an invitation like that."

Javier smiled as he leaned in again and pressed a lingering kiss to her cheek. "Night, Doc."

"Night Detective."

Lanie slid into her apartment and flipped the locks. Then she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly to tamp down the excited butterflies in her stomach. She was wired, riding a high. A third date. She really liked that idea.

* * *

_This isn't proofread to my usual standards, so mistakes are totally mine. I usually go back and read my posted chapters within a few days of putting them up, so if there's glaring mistakes, I'll fix them then._

_There's a big part of me that thinks they both crossed the line into OOC category. If you agree with that, I apologize. I keep trying to justify it the same way any Aaron Hotchner sweet side is justified in my head, and that's that we don't see this personal side, so we have to make it up. Maybe the next date should be super competitive, what do you think? If you've got competitive ideas, I'm listening. _

_We've got some Kate, some Ryan and some serious teasing coming up next, so it should be a good time. Review if you're still with me?_


	5. The Infamous Coffee Metaphor

**Back in New York**

_Chapter 5_

The Infamous Coffee Metaphor

. . . . .

A week.

It had been a week since their date – _second_ date – and they hadn't been able to make time for a third. It was driving him nuts.

It wasn't like they were out of contact. Oh no, there was a constant barrage of text messages and he'd almost made it a point now to bring her a coffee when he stepped out for lunch. He didn't have to, he knew that, but he enjoyed seeing her and he enjoyed seeing her eyes light up, even if it was only for the coffee. He didn't even blink twice when he'd stepped into the morgue while she was half way through an autopsy.

And it wasn't like they hadn't tried. They'd planned it twice. The first time, Ryan had called him to say they'd found a lead in Rosalin Nettles' death. He'd got caught up in the leads the forensics, the financials… Lanie had been understanding, but he still felt terrible. But karmic payback kicked in when they'd been about to leave the precinct and Lanie had been called in on a body. Remembering the way she'd sworn, loudly, still made him grin.

It was one of the things he liked best about Lanie Parish. One second, she was a refined medical examiner, killer on the stand when she testified and lethal when armed with lab results and autopsy findings. The next minute she was a classy and sophisticated woman, smart and sassy and maybe a little bit out of his league. Then she vamped and became the tough as nails woman born and raised in Queens that could swear like a sailor and probably take him out. She was a chameleon and though she didn't necessarily keep secrets, she was an enigma in her own right.

What almost pissed Javier off more was that they were down to their last legs. They'd been running for a week, trying to stay ahead of the swingers club that had the closest connection to Rosalin Nettles without success. Their original suspects, Brad and Anne Mills, had corroborated each other's story about being together the night Rosalin was killed. Apparently, the thrill was in the idea, rather than the actual action and when Javier and Ryan had questioned the other members of the club, they'd agreed that though the Mills showed up to the parties, they always left together and never so much as kissed another remember of the club. The fact that Brad Mills didn't match any of the semen samples Lanie had recovered had quite neatly eliminated them from the pool.

Michelle and Alan Corners had been their next suspects. Well, more appropriately, their teenage daughter Kylee who had learned of the swingers club. They'd happened across that piece of information almost by fluke when Michelle came in for questioning with a bruise forming on her cheek. Kylee admitted to discovering her father and Rosalin Nettles in bed together and while she seemed to be okay with the idea of swingers – though neither Javier or Ryan could understand how a teenager would be okay with their parents sleeping with other people – Rosalin was quite obviously a pain in the girl's side. And Kylee hadn't made a secret of how snobby she thought Rosalin was. But that lead had gone cold when three other teenagers told the same story of Kylee being at a sleepover the night of Rosalin's death.

Which left them with Rosalin's husband, Jonah, and the self-proclaimed leaders of the swingers club, Evangeline and George Parrington. The process of elimination meant that it had been just yesterday Javier and Ryan had pulled together the phone and financial records for the Parringtons and both Jonah and Rosalin Nettles. It had been quite the discovery. Financial records for George Parrington showed a number of motel and hotel charges to his credit card, while Rosalin's phone records showed an inordinate amount of calls to George's phone. Jonah maintained he didn't know about the affair when they'd talked to him that morning, and Evangeline had offered to stop by the precinct later in the afternoon. They hadn't been able to get in contact with George.

But they would keep trying, and in the meantime, Ryan and Javier had stopped for lunch.

"Know what though?" Ryan was saying as he crumpled up the wrapper for his sub. "If the Parringtons started the club, I can't see them being pissed about Rosalin having an affair with George."

Javier snorted. "You don't think they could get territorial?"

"It just seems weird that they would, you know?" Ryan replied as they left the deli and headed down the street. They had a routine and it included a coffee stop.

"Your money's on the husband."

"Yours isn't?"

"Nope," Javier replied as they cued up in the coffee line. "Lanie said the first couple of blows could have been because our perp wasn't strong enough to kill her in one. My money's on the Mrs."

"Evangeline Parrington? Okay, I'll give you that killing is probably not in her repertoire, but you seriously think she killed over an affair?"

"Oldest and purest motive," Javier pointed out. "Sex."

"I don't know," Ryan replied with a shrug as Javier stepped forward to order coffee. "She doesn't strike me as the jealous type. Or the killing type, for that matter."

Javier quickly ordered his black coffee and, half out of habit and half because he wanted to, he ordered Lanie's daily latte. He stepped aside and caught Ryan shaking his head. "What?"

"Dude, coffee? Again? How many times is that?"

Javier wasn't about to admit it was daily. Not to Ryan. "A few."

"A few? No, bro. A few would be once or twice, not daily for a week."

"How do you know it's been daily?" Javier asked, injecting disbelief into his voice. Ryan was probably his best friend, but he wanted to keep things with Lanie quiet for a little bit longer. They worked together and he didn't want Ryan to go spreading it around until Javier was sure it was heading somewhere.

And he wanted it to head somewhere. He enjoyed her company, her sass, her spunk. Their park date had been better than nice and he'd been blown away by their kiss at her door. Which was why he was so irritated by the fact that they hadn't had a chance for a third date yet. He wanted to get the case closed and out of the way so he could have a little bit more time on his hands.

"Dude, I'm a detective. How do you think I know you've been taking her coffee daily."

Javier eyed his partner. "You called in that favour Masterson owes you from the Darna case."

Ryan just shrugged. "You know coffee's cop talk for flowers, right? I mean, most men bring flowers to surprise our women, we bring coffee?"

"And what, your honeymilk is your equivalent?"

"All I want to know is whether or not you're dating our good doc," Ryan said with a sly smile. "'Cause Masterson and I have a bet going and if I'm right he owes me twenty bucks and he's still indebted to me."

Javier didn't answer, just waited for the extra coffee, sipping absently from his.

"Fine," Ryan acquiesced as he took his own two cream one sugar from the barista. "Then at least give me details. You sleeping together?"

Javier's hackles went up immediately. "Dude, this is Lanie. What do you think?" He knew immediately his partner had taken the comment the wrong way by the light that sparked in his eyes.

"I want to know _details_, man! Is she good?"

And that sent his irritation higher. He was glad for the arrival of Lanie's coffee because not only did he not want to talk about his relationship with Lanie in a more general sense, he definitely didn't want to talk about it in a coffee shop. Were they dating, yeah, but did that mean they were whatever the adult equivalent was to boyfriend and girlfriend? He didn't know. And with Lanie, he didn't want to assume.

Javier climbed behind the wheel and Ryan fell into the passenger's seat, still pestering him to give details about him and Lanie. Javier kept his mouth shut as they wove through the streets. Finally, though, the poking and prodding got the better of him.

"Listen, man," he started as he swung the car into an empty parking spot outside the morgue, "What's between Lanie and I, is between Lanie and I. I'm not giving you details."

Ryan didn't really react other than to cock his head to the side. "Dude, you harped on me about Jenny for _months_."

"Yeah, so? It's a guy thing."

"Exactly." But Ryan's mind was actually down a different path. He'd kept his mouth shut about Jenny because he didn't want to ruin things with the blond. He wanted things to go well. He genuinely liked the girl. It had taken him months before he introduced the woman to Castle, Beckett and, most importantly Javier because he didn't want them to say or do something stupid. But Lanie… Lanie was one of theirs, and as loyal as he was to Javier, Ryan wanted to make sure that things with Lanie weren't just a passing fancy.

"It's my personal life, okay? We're partners, not sisters."

Really, to Ryan, that was clue enough. He was protective of his relationship with Lanie, so it wasn't a passing fling. If it was, Javier wouldn't have a problem sharing details, telling him everything. They'd done it before, before Jenny and, apparently, before Lanie. Now, however, it seemed like Javier had a different outlook on whatever was going on with him and the ME. Honestly, Ryan was happy about it and happy for his friends.

Still, he grinned and said, "Should I be adding an extra fifteen minutes to our commute time so you can drop that off at your girlfriend's?"

The glare Javier shot him was totally worth the dig.

* * *

_Okay, I know I said Kate, but Ryan butted his head in here. And I haven't been able to decide if I want to call him Ryan when I'm in Esposito's head, or Kevin. _

_I'm not totally sure how I feel about this chapter. Not looking for sympathy or anything, just a matter-of-fact statement. I 'switched' POV's more than half way through, but what can you do. And I can't figure out how to appropriately write a case when there's no Kate and Castle involved. The nitty gritty of the case wouldn't really do anything to advance the relationship (which is really the focal point of the story) so I went with what I consider the in between. You get the highlights if you want to follow the case, but I still get my relationship focus. Good times. _

_Case wrap up, then Kate. I miss her. She and Alexis took over my brain today, followed by a murdering assistant to an FBI agent, but we'll see where that leads us. _

_Oh, and this, again, isn't read through as thoroughly as I'd like, but if I looked at it again, I was going to go cross-eyed. So my apologies for mistakes and errors!_


	6. Descriptors and Definitions

**Back in New York**

_Chapter 6_

Descriptors and Definitions

. . . . .

Lanie absently thumbed through Kate's desk. Her best friend was territorial, but Lanie was bored. She'd come down to the precinct because she'd heard that Javier and Ryan had found their guy. So, she'd made her way to a coffee shop of her own – because he'd been buying her a lot of coffee and she figured she could repay him by providing that life-giving substance – and then to the precinct. A closed case usually meant at least an evening's break and Lanie was all for taking advantage of free time.

The eagerness was new to her. She was a serial dater, had her fair share of first dates, even second dates, but this was the first time she'd been so excited and eager to go on a third. Usually, she allowed her work to take over, allowed it to be an excuse as to why she couldn't make a date, why she needed to cancel a date. But she found with Javier that she was actually looking forward to a third date. Maybe it was the fact that he'd taken time out of each day to drop by her morgue and leave a cup of coffee whether she was in the room or not, maybe it was the sweet, flirty text messages they exchanged over time, she didn't know. What she did know was that she wanted that third date and if this was the close of the case, then she wanted that date tonight.

And Lanie Parish wasn't passive.

"Doctor Parish!" It was Ryan who had spotted her first and Lanie graced him with a friendly smile before sliding his counterpart a saucy smirk.

"Detectives."

Javier arched an eyebrow at her as she came around the desks, stopping to lean a hip against his. He took his seat, skidding into the chair and dropping the folder before noticing the take out cup on his desk. "You brought me coffee."

"Did you bring me coffee?" Ryan asked eagerly.

"Not unless you're the one that's been stoppin' by the morgue every day," Lanie shot back.

Ryan pouted. Javier laughed.

"So, Doc, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

He looked supremely satisfied and Lanie smiled. "I take it you finished your case?"

"The wife," Javier replied, sending a smirk in Ryan's direction. The latter rolled his eyes. That alone told Lanie the boys had bet on the outcome. "She knew of her husband's affair and wasn't pleased."

"Says she just went to our vic to tell her to back off," Ryan piped up.

Lanie glanced at the time on Javier's computer. It was four, still early. She had no bodies and no lab work – it was Perlmutter's turn to take on the incoming – but Javier would likely have to stay for at least another hour. Still…

"You owe me a third date," she told him, lowering her voice. She didn't necessarily mind if Ryan knew they were going on dates, but both she and Javier were private enough not to want the entirety of the precinct to know. Things were still shiny and new between them and she didn't want to risk letting it spread only to have things fall apart.

"So I do," he replied, leaning back in his chair. "I've got some paperwork yet." He paused to deliberately take a sip of his coffee, his eyes brightening somewhat when the taste was perfect. Lanie smiled inwardly. It was one thing for him to know her favourite, but she liked to keep her own keen sense of observation to herself. At least when it came to human behaviour. "I'll call you when I get off?"

Lanie nodded her agreement. She pushed herself off the desk then, taking a chance, slid her fingers across his broad shoulders on her way out of the precinct.

Javier felt it, the warm touch, the slight scratch of her fingers and couldn't stop the little shiver that crept down his spine. God, he really liked her. And he'd been really happy to see her muddling through Beckett's drawers when he stepped out of the interrogation room, riding the high of a successfully closed case, confession and all. He'd had every intention of giving Lanie a call when he settled at his desk. Their one week had stretched to two with the case and he was glad for the break. The break meant a date and he was kind of anxious to get to the next one. Texting and dropping off coffee, sometimes with a quick conversation, just wasn't going to cut it anymore.

Which both scared and thrilled him. Lanie was different, there was absolutely no doubt in his mind. Different in a lot of ways too. She gave as good as she got, she didn't let him walk all over her, and she understood the whole two weeks between dates thing. His job was busy, it took a lot of time, and he'd had a number of women tell him a full blown relationship wasn't going to work because he just didn't have time.

But he made the time for Lanie.

He realized too that he'd been making time for Lanie for a while. He'd go out of his way to bring her along to things, make sure she was free to come out with the team when they celebrated a case. With Ryan bringing Jenny around more often and the usual play-by-play with their own resident Mulder and Scully, Lanie and Javier had been left to their own devices more and more often. He didn't mind, especially as he got to know the enigmatic ME.

He forcibly shook his head. He had paperwork to finish, and the faster he finished his paperwork, the sooner he'd be able to call Lanie for that dinner. And the sooner he'd be able to let off some steam with his favourite ME.

. . . . .

Lanie, meanwhile, had opted to head back to the morgue and do some paperwork. She had her own pile on her desk and, admittedly, she'd probably been a little over-eager to ensure she had plans tonight, but she'd also been glad she'd taken the time to stop by the precinct. She'd been doing her best to keep from analyzing and dissecting what she was doing with Javier. The thought of their kiss from their date still made her tingle and it had been two weeks. Neither of them had tempted fate when he dropped off their coffee to sneak a kiss and Lanie had to admit, she definitely wanted to do it again.

Still, she tried not to jump for her phone when it starting ringing cheerfully.

"Parish."

"You at home?"

She grinned at Javier's voice. "No. Did you want me to be?"

"Actually, the morgue's closer."

That much was true. "Anxious, Detective?"

"Somethin' like that. I'll meet you outside?"

"Count on it."

Still, Lanie took her time packing a few files, tossing them into her bag. She stopped off in the bathroom to check herself out in the mirror, touching up her makeup, making sure her hair was in the right place, before she headed outside She wasn't waiting long before he pulled up, and she climbed in the passenger's seat, tossing her bag in the back. "Where to?"

"I was thinkin' something easy," he replied and she jolted when he reached out and ran a hand down her arm. "Bar food okay with you?"

"You got something in mind?" she countered. New York had the spectrum of bars and pubs, from ones with good drinks and crappy food, to the exact opposite. She wanted to get an idea of where they were going before she agreed.

"Yeah. Place called O'Reilly's."

Lanie agreed. They talked about the case while they drove and Javier was lucky enough to find a parking spot. He pulled her back when she reached for the door and she raised an eyebrow as she turned. "If this is gonna be about chivalry I'm gonna-"

He cut her off by pulling her close and kissing her. Lanie's breath caught, as much from surprise as the feeling of his mouth against hers. She relaxed almost immediately though, allowing herself to open her mouth to his tongue, to wrap one hand around his neck and use the other one to grip his bicep. God, she loved his arms. And Javier himself certainly wasn't unaffected as he cupped her hip and spread his other hand over her back. She was small against him, petite, and he certainly liked that about her. He liked that her small stature was so deceptive of the woman within.

She was breathing heavily when they finally separated. "Does this mean I'm not the only one that's been thinkin' of that kiss for two weeks?"

He just flashed her a grin.

* * *

Three hours later, they were, once again, climbing the stairs to her apartment. They'd been exchanging touches, glances, sitting close all night and Lanie could feel her body humming. She knew the rules. Traditionally speaking, the third date was the date where the relationship status was determined. While Lanie hadn't exactly been religious about following those rules, she couldn't help but feel a bit anxious, fiddling with her keys. She turned to him outside her door.

She cocked her head to the side. "Come in?"

"Depends," he replied. "Got decaf?"

"Yeah," she responded, letting out the breath she'd been inadvertently holding. She unlocked her door and let him in. Javier let the door swing closed behind him as Lanie headed into the small kitchen. "Just make yourself at home."

When she came back in from the kitchen, he was sitting on her couch, looking right at home, reading the back of the novel she'd left on the table. She sank onto the edge of the couch, taking the time to remove the pumps she'd put on for regular day use. She had a pair of comfortable runners she kept with her scrubs in her locker at the morgue. She sighed as she dropped them on the floor and leaned back against the arm of the couch. Her head fell back against the cushions as she listened to the coffee percolating and the light sounds of his breathing four feet away.

"You okay?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

She lifted her head, opening her eyes to find he'd followed her example, leaning back against her couch. "Tired," she answered. "But I had a good time."

"Good," he replied. They dropped into silence again and Lanie chewed her lip. There was a part of her that wanted to talk about it, wanted to know where their relationship was headed. But there was another part of her that didn't understand why she needed to. She was the queen of avoiding the dissecting of relationships. Her mother had once given her that advice, told her that the minute you started dissecting a relationship, it was dead. Lanie had taken it to heart. But that didn't stop her from wanting some sort of concrete idea of where he wanted this to go. He seemed at home to her, relaxed in her space, and she liked that, probably more than she'd ever admit.

Neither of them said anything, nor did they move until Lanie could no longer hear the coffee maker. Then she headed into the room, returning with two mugs. His eyes opened then, as she wafted the mug beneath his nose and he smiled as he accepted the cup. His fingers brushed hers as she let go. She settled down, closer than before, curling her legs beneath him again.

"Do we want to talk about what we're doing?" she blurted suddenly. She slammed her eyes closed. She wasn't that kind of girl. She wasn't the type to worry over the 'are-we/aren't-we' conundrum in relationships. Heck, she was the one that usually avoided that definition. Of course, it wasn't often she made it to the point where the definition of a relationship was necessary.

Javier carefully sipped his coffee, eyeing her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know," she replied honestly, looking down into her mug.

"You're not one to hide, Lain," he said and she jolted at the new name. "So what's goin' on?"

Lanie sighed. "Look, I don't usually care for labels or definitions… but this? This isn't normal. We're friends, we share friends, we're exploring something more, and if it all falls apart… we're not the only ones that are going to be affected. We work together."

He was infuriatingly calm, even as his brow wrinkled. "So, you want definition? Or you don't?"

"Definitions… lead to complications, to pressure. I don't want that for us, whether it deserves a definition or not. I just… We're building something here, right?" she asked, not looking at him.

Javier was a little taken aback. Lanie didn't strike him as the type to be insecure with much of anything, let alone in relationships. She was strong, assured, self-sufficient, independent… insecure wasn't one of the adjectives he ever used to describe her. "I thought so," he finally answered, choosing his words carefully. "Something good."

"Exactly," she agreed with a nod and her body relaxed. That was really all she wanted to know. He'd seemed just as disappointed that their date had been pushed off as she was and he had kissed her quite thoroughly just before going into the pub. Still, she'd allowed that tidbit of doubt to creep in and cloud her judgment. Now that she knew though…

She looked up as he took her mug from her, putting them both on the nearby coffee table. "We're building something good," he said, "and I want to keep going." And then he kissed her.

Lanie leaned into the contact, sliding closer and using the back of the couch as support when she twisted her body. One of his hands came to rest on her hip. The other stroked up and down her thigh. He tasted of coffee and mint, and she vaguely remembered splitting a piece of gum – because Javier never ate a whole piece and she'd been thankful for the chance to freshen her breath - with him on their way back to her apartment. She slid her hand around the back of his head, spreading her fingers wide to hold him to her. Not that he really had any intention of letting up. Lanie felt her body heat, was acutely aware of the hand on her thigh, but he didn't do anything to set off alarm bells and he didn't move to do much more than kiss her.

Eventually, they pulled away. For Lanie, it was as much about stopping herself before she was in too deep as it was about actually breathing. Javier's eyes were dark, passion-filled, and he graced her with a genuine grin that, if her heart hadn't already been racing, would have sent her heart fluttering. "You should go," she murmured.

"I should," he agreed, then leaned in again. They kissed for a moment longer before he stood. She followed, leaning on the door as he turned to face her in the hall. Then he stepped back in, she tilted her chin up, and they were kissing again. "Let's hope the next date doesn't take two weeks," he said against her lips.

She knew better than to really believe it, but she laughed as he stepped back. "No guarantees."

Javier stood there for a moment, taking her in. "Good night, Lanie."

She smiled, wide and happy. "Good night Javier."

* * *

_Ladies and gentlemen, this is a lesson in what happens when you let a chapter run away with itself. Not kidding. Well, that and writing when you should really be hopped up on painkillers for the leprechauns dancing on your brain. Hence why even while I'm typing this note I'm aware I'm going to read this over later and realize how loopy headaches make me. _

_On that note, mistakes are mine. Admittedly, didn't read it. Will later and I'll get back to you. _

_In the mean time, review_s _are appreciated, but not necessary. Well, the latter isn't totally true, but the fact that you're reading is what matters. _

_PS: There and Back fans... there is slow cooperation from Rick and Kate. We're hoping by the end of the week. It's my favourite and I've been upset they've been against cooperating. World fans, Hamptons should be close. Mid-July is next and Hamptons picks up in August. In this timeline. That's going to be a fun game._


	7. Family and Friends

**Back in New York**

_Chapter 7_

Family and Friends

. . . . .

Lanie waited a month and a half.

It wasn't out of some sense of wanting to hold back from her best friend, it was more that Lanie had wanted to be sure. She was a strong, independent woman and had always been that way. She made her own decisions and she dealt with the consequences when they were bad decisions. With Javier, she wanted to have a better idea of where their relationship was going and if it was going to turn into a relationship to begin with. After six weeks of dating, lots of coffees and flirty text messages, not to mention steamy kisses and a heavy makeout session at her apartment after their last date, Lanie was pretty sure what she had could be considered a relationship.

Which was why, on a gorgeous mid-July morning, instead of being out wandering Central Park, she was in her morgue the phone pressed to her ear as she waited for Kate to pick up.

"Beckett."

"Girl, you're on vacation-"

"Sick leave," Kate interrupted.

Lanie rolled her eyes. "You're not working," she allowed, "and you're answering your phone like that?"

"What if it was Montgomery?"

"Has he ever called you while you were off?"

The women shared a laugh. Honestly, it made Lanie happy to hear Kate laugh. There had been a while where she was sure that wasn't going to happen. Sometimes Kate took herself too seriously and Lanie could honestly say she was glad for Rick Castle in her friend's life. Castle forced Kate to laugh, added some brightness to her day and though Lanie would never admit it, probably never even in a court of law, she was both intensely grateful for Castle and a little jealous.

"How are you feeling?" Lanie took the time to ask. With Kate's shooting, Castle had whisked her off to the Hamptons for her recovery and Lanie had been kind of lax in keeping up with her best friend.

"I'm doing well," Kate promised. "Rehab is going well and I haven't killed Rick yet."

"Well that has to be a record."

The detective on the other end of the phone chuckled. "Honestly, Lanie… He's been superb through all of this."

"We expected that," Lanie replied. "We wouldn't have trusted him with your recovery otherwise."

"I'm glad you have such faith in my abilities," Kate said wryly.

"Nah, we just know you," the ME responded. "Castle'll be able to find that fine line between letting you have your space and making sure you do all the right things to be back in the precinct come fall."

"Well, it helps that he sleeps late into the morning and I'm an early riser."

"And how is coffee on the beach first thing?"

"The most fantastic thing in the world," Kate replied unrepentantly. "But I know you, Doctor Parish, so what's going on?"

"Why does there have to be somethin' goin' on?" Lanie asked. It had been the whole point of her call, but that was beside the point.

"Because while I appreciate you checking up on me, I know that tone of voice. So what's going on?"

Lanie found herself chewing the inside of her cheek as she slid into her desk chair.

Kate caught the nervous tension in her best friend. "You're nervous to dish? Should I be sitting down?"

Lanie had to admit she was thankful for Kate's playful teasing. Kate and Javier were close and it felt a little bit like she was about to confide in his sister as much as it would be confiding in her best friend. She recognized it as stupid though. Kate would be happy for her, happy for them.

"There's a guy."

"A consistent one?" Kate asked immediately. It wasn't a secret between the friends that Lanie liked to date, so Lanie didn't begrudge the question.

"Yeah."

"How consistent?"

"Six weeks." Lanie stuck the phone between her ear and her shoulder, and started absently picking at her nails.

"A keeper." Kate paused. "Your guy have a name?"

"Javier."

Silence greeted her admission. "Our Javier?" Kate asked finally.

"Yeah," Lanie replied.

"You've been dating Javier Esposito for six weeks." There was nothing in the female detective's voice to indicate whether she was worried about the relationship or supportive of it. "Is it good?"

The smile was instantaneous, unbidden and unstoppable. "It's really good."

"You sound happy," Kate admitted, her own affection for the pair of them now in her voice. "Well! Spill! Tell me all about it!"

* * *

It was just over a week after talking to Kate – and two dates she and Javier had managed to squeeze in – that Lanie went by the Twelfth Precinct, coffee, this time for Ryan too, and Perlmutter's autopsy results in hand. It had been the abrasive coroner that had been on call when Javier and Ryan had picked up their case, but Lanie really, _really_ didn't mind hand-delivering the results. The boys had been running virtually non-stop for the last couple of days as they found and chased down leads, so Lanie and Javier had been relegated largely to phone calls and text messages.

For Lanie, it was odd to feel like she needed to talk to someone constantly. Even she and Kate when weeks and weeks without a single personal conversation. But with Javier, she'd discovered she just, quite simply, wanted to be around him. So she'd taken the excuse of delivering results to go by the precinct, virtually humming as she made her way to Javier's desk. She placed Ryan's steaming cup on his desk before settling herself at Javier's, absently opening Perlmutter's file as she waited. Stabbing victim. Drugs… fantastic.

An irate female voice caught Lanie's attention as it increased in pitch and volume. When she looked up from the report, she froze. She recognized the woman berating the poor officer trying to give her answers. Lanie sprang out of her chair, coffee and report, even her reason for hanging around forgotten.

"Evelyn?" Lanie called.

The screeching continued and Lanie did her best to make out some of the words while simultaneously reaching for the woman.

"Evelyn!" she tried again, shooting the harried looking officer an apologetic look. "Evelyn!"

Evelyn spun on Lanie, shrieking, "They arrested my son!"

Lanie sucked in a breath as Evelyn collapsed against her. The officer took his chance and scampered away as Lanie stroked her hand over Evelyn's dark head. After a moment, Lanie lifted Evelyn's chin, meeting eyes identical to her own. Though Evelyn wasn't her sister, they were almost identical. "What are you doing here? Who got arrested?"

"Danny," Evelyn answered immediately. "And no one will tell me anything."

"If it's not their case, they probably don't know much," Lanie soothed, guiding Evelyn to the benches outside the interrogation rooms. They sat there for a while, Lanie doing her best to calm Evelyn, reassure her that it had to be a mistake. It wasn't until a shadow fell over them that Lanie looked up. And straight into Javier's gaze.

"Mrs Keating?" he asked, though his eyes never left Lanie's. He had to have seen the resemblance between the two women, identified them as relatives. The coroner felt a cold dread settle in her stomach, something telling her that Evelyn's presence and Javier's case were directly related.

"Where's my son?" Evelyn asked immediately.

"Interrogation two," Javier responded immediately. "Detective Ryan and his representative are in there with him."

Danny was fifteen. A minor. Evelyn raced away, leaving Javier and Lanie looking at each other. Finally, he moved, sitting beside her.

"We arrested Daniel Keating this morning," he told her, now no longer able to meet her gaze. "Do you know him?"

Lanie's eyes closed. "Yeah, you could say that." She didn't need to look at him to know the question he would ask. "His mother's my cousin."

* * *

_I'm not fully comfortable with this chapter. But that's okay. Because it needed to happen. So now it did! Good times._

_Review if you're still with me? Pretty please? _

_And for those of you wondering, There and Back is being betaed/edited and I'm just prepping the first chapter of Hamptons to be posted. The two stories (Hamptons and NY) are just about to cross, so it should be up soon. _

_But in the meantime, I'm off to immerse myself in Criminal Minds land so it'll be a while before the next update comes up. _

_Patience is loved!_


	8. Press Pause Press Play

**Back in New York**

Chapter 8

_Press Pause, Press Play_

. . . . .

"Your cousin," Javier repeated slowly.

Lanie nodded. "Your murder suspect is the fifteen-year-old son of my cousin."

They could both hear the commotion from the interrogation room, could hear Evelyn's voice rising in both pitch and volume. Javier ran a hand over his head. This wasn't good and they both knew it. Their relationship was still too new and shiny and they knew that said relationship could easily affect the case. Maybe not the investigation, but there were rumours and stories about people who were too close and suffered the consequences when it went to trial. There wasn't a police officer around who liked having their objectivity get called into question and Lanie knew, without a doubt in her mind, that Javier would probably blow if someone even _suggested_ he was biased. He prided himself on his integrity and his unflappable objectivity.

But Lanie was family-oriented. She always had been. Her family protected their own, knew their own. They were close, the whole lot of them, and Lanie felt completely confident in saying there was no way Danny could kill anyone. However, she also knew about police procedure and evidence and understood that Javier's role was to be the cop.

She cleared her throat. "I have to get back."

He reached for her, seeming to be unable to stop himself. "Lain…"

She managed to catch his hand. "There's coffee and autopsy results on your desk." It was the best she could give him considering the knot that had taken root in her stomach.

"No other woman in the world could actually make that sound appealing," he returned with a little bit of a strained laugh.

With a squeeze, she released his hand and started walking away. The knot in her stomach tightened. Between Evelyn and Javier, she had a feeling her life was about to get more stressful.

And it started that night.

Lanie was just settling down with leftover cold pizza – God it was good cold – when her phone rang. Almost out of habit, she sighed. It wouldn't be the first time she was called to the morgue after clocking out. But the number that flashed on the screen wasn't for dispatch. It wasn't Javier either.

"Hello?"

"What is this about Danny getting _arrested for murder_?"

Lanie allowed herself to slump back into the couch. "Hello to you too, Ma."

"Don't you 'hello Ma' me!"

Lanie rolled her eyes. She loved her mother. Very much. But sometimes she was sure the whole lot of them forgot that though she worked for the city and with the NYPD she didn't have any kind of special pull.

"He was arrested for murder! You get him out of this right now, Elaine Parish."

Lanie huffed out a breath in exasperation as she always did when her mother tried to intimidate her by using her full name. She'd never once used Elaine, but her family pulled it out on occasion, usually to irritate her. "I can't," she said.

"What do you mean you can't? Your aunt is _livid._ Evelyn is hysterical," Claire Parish snapped.

"I saw Lyn and the precinct," Lanie answered patiently.

"Can't you… get the charges dropped?"

"You know it doesn't work like that."

"What about your friend. Kate. She's a detective. A murder detective."

"Homicide, Ma," Lanie corrected out of habit. "And she's in the Hamptons. She got shot, remember?" Lanie's eyes slid closed. _Please don't ask about her team. Please don't ask about her team…_

"She works with two other detectives, doesn't she? Can't they do anything? Can't you talk to them?"

Lanie winced. She was going to have to work on her telepathy. "They're the ones that arrested him," she admitted. "_But!_" And she said it loudly and quickly to cut off the tirade she knew her mother would go on. "Ma, there's no one else I'd trust more to find the truth.

"Danny didn't do it. You know that boy couldn't hurt anyone."

"There was never a doubt in my mind," Lanie replied.

Claire sniffled. "He's _fifteen_. He's just a boy."

"I know, Ma." She'd known it would come to this. Danny had his whole life ahead of him. A murder charge, the trial… Lanie sighed. "It'll work itself out, we just have to have faith. We have to stay positive. We have to support Danny." Not that there was ever a question about the last part. Sometimes Lanie felt like the phrase 'never leave a man behind' was terrifyingly accurate in describing the Parish clan.

"You'll keep me up to date?"

Lanie sighed. "I can't touch the case," she replied.

_Or the detective_, her mind reminded her snidely. It was a conclusion that she had been racing into since she discovered Danny had been arrested. Javier wanted a solid case and she needed to make sure she didn't jeopardize that. However, she was connected to the suspect and that made her judgment clouded by default. The last thing Javier needed was a black mark on his objectivity because she used her connections to keep up on a case.

It didn't help that Lanie wanted Danny out of jail and Javier had to follow the evidence. Logically, Lanie knew that if the evidence pointed to Danny, then the cosmic tumblers would see Danny arrested and put on trial. Her point of view, releasing Danny, was in direct conflict with his point of view. It didn't help that though it wasn't his fault, he had been the one to put Danny in jail for the night. He'd arrested a kid Lanie was actually very close to. And even she knew she had an unfortunate affinity for lashing out when no one expected it, regardless of how good she usually was at controlling her temper.

Yet, the idea of having to stay away from him for the duration of the case also left her stomach unsettled. Homicides were notorious for not having a set time span. Solving the case could take days, weeks, even months and Lanie most definitely did not like the idea of having to stay away from Javier for _months_. They'd fallen into such a good routine, one she'd genuinely started seeing as the high point of her day. Just last week she'd had the unfortunate task of having to do an autopsy on a child, a freaking eight-year-old kid that had been at the wrong place at the wrong time and taken a bullet to the shoulder. And it would have been non-fatal too, if it wasn't for the small piece of lead that had then ripped through the boy's liver. Just as she'd been closing little Connor's freezer up tight, Javier had walked in, her coffee accompanied by a small package of Mini-Eggs. The lead detective on Connor's case had mentioned it in passing to Javier and let slip she was the ME that had picked up the call. It had been a short conversation, but all things considered, it had very much brightened her day. They'd even risked a kiss on his way out of the morgue.

"They're not telling Evelyn anything. You need to keep us updated, Lanie. We need to know what we need to do to help Danny."

Unwilling to prolong the conversation any further, Lanie simply agreed, though avoided making promises. She said her goodbyes and hung up. No long hungry, she returned the pizza to the fridge. Absently chewing on a nail as she returned to the couch, she eyed her phone. Then, with a mental 'screw it', she hit the third speed dial.

"Esposito."

He was still working. That was upsetting and a relief at the same time. "Anything?" she asked.

There was a bit of a shuffle and Lanie realized he'd picked up without checking the ID. "Lain?"

"Yeah," she said, releasing a breath.

Javier paused. "Everything we've got points to Danny." He'd dropped his voice, though she could hear the bullpen getting quieter. "We had to take him to booking."

She twisted a curl around her finger. "He didn't do it, Javi."

"I'm sorry, Cariño."

Lanie half-sighed in irritation, half-swooned. The little endearment had been popping up more often and though Lanie knew she could easily look up the translation, she really wanted to hear it from Javier. She just hadn't asked yet.

"Lain, I have to go. Ryan and I are running financials and-"

"You're rooting through my family?" She slammed her eyes closed as soon as the words were out of her mouth. It was exactly what she _hadn't_ wanted to do. "I'm sorry."

He blew out a breath of his own. "Look, I know this is your family. I know this isn't a regular case, but I gotta treat it like one. That means financials, phone records, talkin' to people…"

"I know," Lanie promised.

There was a pause. Then, "Are we…"

She took pleasure in the way he stopped for another moment, seemingly not willing to put into words what she knew he was thinking.

He cleared his throat. "Are we gonna have to hit pause here?"

It was a heavy question to say the least. "I don't want to," she admitted. "It's only been a few days."

"Good," he replied, voice low enough to make a warm shiver skitter down her spine. "For the record, I hope you're right."

She knew he was talking about Danny. "Me too."

"Goodnight, Lanie."

She hung up and wrapped her arms around herself. Despite that conversation, she felt remarkably and terrifyingly alone.

* * *

_I'd hoped this was more words than it turned out to be, but oh well!_

_For those of you who are wondering, Lanie's past and why she's so close with her cousin's son are going to all be explained. Not yet, 'cause that would take the fun out of life, but it will. Before the case is over. And according to my baby names site (I have one bookmarked for all of the bloody writing I do) Lanie can be a diminutive of Elaine. And I'm not totally sure on the Cariño because I'm not Spanish. More specifically, I'm not sure if it's supposed to be 'o' or 'a' 'cause Lanie's female. If someone knows, I'd appreciate the correction since I'm hoping to have it pop up more often now that they're moving through their relationship._

_I hope I explained their uncertainty too. The whole objectivity-Lanie's-family-involvement angle. I'm not totally sure I did, but it's the only thing I'm not sure of in this chapter, so I guess I'm going to have to deal! I did my best and I just hope you guys understood. Yay!_

_I have the next chapter of this started, but I'm going to try and get Hamptons up before I leave for the cottage this afternoon and that takes some serious typing. I am hoping to have at least one, if not 2 chapters ready for typing when I get back, the same with Hamptons, so if everything works in my favour, I should be updating this AND the Hamptons when I get back on Tuesday. _

_Review? Pretty please?_


	9. Close Knit

**Back in New York**

Chapter 9

_Close-Knit_

. . . . .

Javier deliberately waited until the first week of August before finally relenting and agreeing it was time to go search the home of Daniel Keating. He'd waited until fingerprints had returned, until DNA had come back, until it was the only thing they could possibly do. It wasn't fair to the victim's family, but he was buying time to find a different perspective, a different way to attack the case to give them a lead that _wasn't_ Danny. But the captain was starting to breathe down his neck, so he hadn't had a choice. He was running out of options and he was running out of time.

The Keatings lived in Queens, in a house with a yard and a porch. It was a well-kept place, Javier decided as he and Ryan pulled up on a Friday evening, just late enough to be pretty sure Evelyn Keating would be home. There was a little girl playing quietly out in the front yard as the detectives climbed out of the car and the men exchanged a look before approaching.

"Hello," Javier said quietly, crouching down to her level and removing his badge from his belt. "My name is Javier."

The little girl looked up at him innocently. "I'm not supposta talk to strangers."

"That's smart," Javier agreed solemnly. Then he waved to his badge in his other hand. "But I'm not a stranger. I'm the police."

"My Auntie Lain works with the police," she told him as she removed the badge from her hand, running her fingers over the ridges. "But she says she doesn't get a badge."

Javier's grin was unconscious. "I know your auntie."

"You do?" she asked, eyes wide and wonderous.

"Uh huh. We both do." He nodded his head back at Ryan.

The girl's face lit up. "She's the bestest."

"That she is," Javier agreed, holding out his hand. The little girl placed his badge back in it. "Is your mom around?"

"Inside," she said, her face falling. "She and Daddy were yelling so I came outside. My broder went away and they yell a lot now."

Javier assumed 'going away' was the euphemism in this case for Danny's stint in a cell. He could only imagine. It was difficult, he knew, keeping a family together when one of them was in jail. He couldn't stop himself from offering her an apologetic smile and running his hand over her hair. He was just pushing himself up when Evelyn's voice rang out across the yard. "Can I help you, Detectives?"

"Mrs Keating," Ryan spoke up, exchanging a look with Javier at the obvious irritation in her voice. He started his way up to the porch. "We need to see your son's room."

"Danny's room?" Evelyn asked, wringing the dishtowel she held in her hands. "Why?"

"The DNA and fingerprints came back. Danny's prints were the odd ones out," Javier said carefully. "We need to see his room."

"No," Evelyn replied, swift, short and to-the-point.

Ryan folded his arms over his chest. "We can get a warrant, Mrs Keating. We have probable cause," he warned. Neither of them had wanted to use the threat, but they weren't about to just walk away. They had yet to find the murder weapon to their shooting.

"Then I suggest you get that warrant, Detectives," Evelyn snapped back, head held high. "Because you're not getting in without one." She turned to the little girl. "Micky, inside. Come on."

Ryan glanced at Javier as they climbed back into the car. "We have to get that warrant, Bro."

"Yeah," Javier responded, pulling out his phone. The family was shutting down, protecting each other and whatever they thought they had left. But he had an inside pass. "Think you can drop me by the morgue?"

"Dude, the Doc's not gonna roll on her family," Ryan replied as he started the car and pulled away from the curb. "We're still gonna need that warrant."

"You work on the warrant," Javier agreed. "I'm still talkin' to Lanie."

Ryan almost sighed. "I thought you wanted to keep her out of this?"

"I did. I do. Desperate times call for desperate measures," Javier answered, pressing the phone to his ear. Lanie picked up on the second ring. "Hey, Doc. Think you can make some time for your favourite detective?"

* * *

She missed him. That was the only logical explanation Lanie could come up with as to why she'd agreed so swiftly and easily to Javier coming by the morgue. Their communication over the last two weeks had been virtually non-existent and she'd actually been a bit surprised at how much she'd truly missed the detective. It also explained why her breath caught in her throat when he sauntered through her doors. God, she was like a bloody teenager. He stopped right in front of her in her desk chair, leaning down to tug on a curl playfully.

"Hey Doc."

And Lanie watched with warmth as some of the tension leaked out of his shoulders when she smiled. "Hey Detective. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I've got bad news," he admitted reluctantly, leaning against Lanie's desk. "DNA and prints came back."

"And it still points to Danny." Her shoulders sagged.

Javier's smile was apologetic. "I'm holdin' out that we're going to find the metaphorical and literal smokin' gun when we get into your cousin's house. Ryan's workin' on the warrant now."

"It doesn't surprise me, that she didn't let you in," she admitted with a light chuckle. "We're like Fort Knox."

"That was why I wanted to talk to you," he confessed. "Most family would be doin' everythin' they can to help, to clear the kid's name. But not yours. They're making us jump through hoops."

"And you want to know why," Lanie finished.

He shrugged, almost helplessly. "We're runnin' out of options, Lain."

Lanie eyed him as she leaned back in her chair. Her family's history wasn't pretty, by any stretch of the imagination. Even Kate didn't know all of the details and Kate had met most of her family. They'd all tried to bury it, put it aside and remember the good things. What Javier was asking for was the deep darkness.

"You sure this is gonna help?" she questioned warily.

"Cari," he said softly, perching his hands on the arms of her chair. "Right now, I'm not sure anythin's gonna help. Which is why I'm lookin' at all my options here."

They both started, Javier upright, when the morgue doors swung open.

"Not here," Lanie decided. She stood and led the way through the winding halls to the back alley. She leaned against the wall while Javier took up a place in front of her, folding his arms over his chest. She sucked in a breath.

"First thing you've gotta know… we're fighters. All of us."

He grinned. "I figured that one."

"It's more than that," she corrected, even as her own smile flashed briefly. "Evelyn's ma, my Aunt Alice, had leukemia when we were kids. She and I basically raised our siblings because my parents spent a lot of time at the hospital for her treatments… we support each other. My family and Aunt Alice's are close."

"Which is why you're so close to Danny."

She smiled briefly in acknowledgment. "Evelyn's had her own problems. She had an ovary removed because of a malignant tumour after Danny was born. MK was a miracle baby."

"MK?" Javier asked.

"MacKenzie. She's… six now."

"I met her," Javier remembered with a quick smile. "She thinks you're the bestest."

Lanie chuckled. "That's because I spent hours and hours in the hospital with her."

"Why?" he prompted.

"Danny's a good kid," she began slowly. "A really good kid, but two years ago he got caught in a gang fight. Wrong place, wrong time. He coded three times on the table and lost a ton of blood." She blew out a breath."Problem was, he'd gotten in a nasty car accident a few years before and needed a lot of blood transfusions. He developed a haemolitic transfusion reaction. He's allergic to his own blood type."

Javier reached out. Quite obviously Lanie and her family had been through a lot.

"The best bet for blood, as I'm sure you know, is a relative." She paused and chuckled a bit. "MK was four and stubborn as hell. When we all started rolling up our sleeves, she insisted on giving too. It was a good thing though. She was the only match."

Lanie knew it didn't take a genius from there to understand why they were all so close. Javier didn't seem speculative or even awed. Just thoughtful. "Gang violence?" he said.

"Danny?" she clarified. "Yeah."

His mind was spinning, asking connections. She could tell. Slowly, his mouth slid into a wide grin. He caught her face between his palms and kissed her breathless. "Can you get me the date of Danny's shooting?" he asked.

Lanie nodded wordlessly as Javier's phone chirped.

"Ryan's got the warrant," he explained, not bothering to check the text. He was already most of the way out of the alley when he turned back. "Text me that date."

Then he was gone.

Lanie, however, didn't share his confidence, especially when she didn't hear anything from him or Evelyn that evening. So, she did the one thing she'd been avoiding to give Kate her space and her vacation. She called her best friend.

"Hey Lanie."

The down, tired sound of Kate's voice caught Lanie's attention first. "Girl, you don't sound so good."

Kate laughed lightly. "We're just… going through some growing pains," the detective replied. "But you called me, which means something's wrong."

"Danny's been arrested," Lanie blew out, making a mental note to come back to Kate's issues.

"Arrested?" For what?" Kate inquired immediately. Kate had always had an excellent memory for names and faces.

"The boys arrested him for murder."

"My boys?" she asked. "Our boys?" she corrected herself. Then she sighed. "Ryan and Esposito?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you call me sooner?" Kate asked. Conflict of interest wasn't new to Kate and Lanie realized she should have known Kate would not only be there for her but would jump at the chance to help.

"You're on vacation," Lanie responded defensively.

"But I didn't and wouldn't make myself unreachable, especially to my best friend," the detective pointed out. "Are you okay?"

Because _that_ wasn't a loaded question. The ME puffed out a breath. "They've been dragging their heels on officially filing charges," Lanie admitted. "They served a search warrant this afternoon."

"Did they find anything?"

"I don't know," the coroner replied. "I haven't heard from Javier or Evelyn yet." She paused. "Can you do me a favour?"

"Please?" Kate asked, voice eager.

"Can you look over the file? I usually wouldn't ask, and you know that, but… I _know_ Danny didn't do it," Lanie said quickly.

"Get me the file, Lanie and I'll owe you instead of the other way around," Kate swore.

The ME couldn't stop her grin. "Consider it done."

"You're fantastic."

"Writerboy no longer keeping you busy?" Lanie asked with a laugh.

Kate let out a sigh. "If only it was that simple…"


	10. Coming Together

**Back in New York**

Chapter 10

_Coming Together  
_

. . . . .

It was with trepidation that Lanie walked into her parents' backyard. Danny was still in jail, so the extent of her knowledge, despite how excited Javier had been when he'd left her a few days before. They hadn't spoken since. She doubted this particular get-together was going to be full of the usual insanity.

"Auntie Lain!"

Oh, MacKenzie was going to get a phenomenal Christmas present. Lanie had been worried she'd been blacklisted in the family since Danny was still in jail and she'd been unable to help him out. "Hey, MK."

"Auntie Lain," the six-year-old began as Lanie lifted her and perched the child on her hip. "Do you have a friend named Have-er?"

"Javier?" Lanie questioned, smiling when MacKenzie nodded fervently. "I do."

"He was here!" the little girl exclaimed gleefully. "Twice! I like him."

"Did you say hi?" Lanie asked, moving further into the yard.

"Uh huh. Both times. And he let me sit in his car when they found the gun."

Lanie froze. "Gun?" she repeated. "In Danny's room?"

"Yup," MacKenzie replied seriously. "Mommy cried."

_Yeah, I bet_, Lanie thought to herself, seeking Evelyn's head in the crowd. But MacKenzie seemed to have other ideas as she patted Lanie's shoulder with as much urgency as a six-year-old could muster.

"I saw him, Auntie Lain."

"Saw who, Princess?"

"The guy who put the gun in Danny's room!"

For the second time since arriving, MacKenzie had made Lanie freeze, her blood running chilled in her veins. "Did you tell your mom?" she asked. "Did you tell Javier?"

MacKenzie shook her head. "You're the only one I told."

The ME looked around, settling on the stairs as the nearest place she could sit. She shifted MacKenzie into her lap. "You're sure," she said, even though she knew children were never good witnesses. If this could just point them in the right direction… "You saw someone, that wasn't Danny, hiding a gun in Danny's room."

MacKenzie nodded. "I was hiding," she explained. "'Cause Danny's always scaring me so I wanted to scare him and I was hiding inna closet. Then there was a boy there and he wasn't Danny, Auntie Lain, 'cause I know Danny and I'd'a scared him if it was Danny. But it wasn't. And he put the gun in Danny's drawer and I stayed hidden 'cause he was _scary_. Really mean, like the ones when Danny got hurted."

Lanie let the grammar go. It wasn't important in this instance, even though Evelyn and her husband were trying with everything to teach her the right way to speak.

"In the hospital?" she asked to clarify. Since it had been a gang shooting, there had been a number of gang members in the waiting room with them. Even then, MacKenzie had been whimpering scared of them.

"Uh huh. So I stayed hid, 'cause he was _scary_." Though MacKenzie had been four, it had been a terrifying and traumatic experience for her. Lanie wasn't all that surprised that pieces were still in the little girl's memory.

"He left the gun?"

MacKenzie nodded. "Inna drawer. Where Have-er and the other policeman found it."

"And you remember what he looks like?"

"Mean. Scary."

Lanie sighed. It was so close. "You're sure it wasn't Danny? You're sure you didn't know him?"

"Auntie Lain!" MacKenzie said with as much exasperation as her little body could hold. "It couldn'ta been Danny. He was already gone!"

* * *

"What do you mean, Daniel Keating isn't a match?"

Javier did his utmost to hide his relief and glee when the lab tech delivered the news, not just to him and Ryan, but Captain Montgomery and the ADA.

Jeffery "Drum" Drummond was stick thin with adult acne and a real passion for forensics. "We found prints on the gun and DNA on the slide. While the DNA is male, neither it, nor the fingerprints are a match to Daniel Keating."

"Ballistics?" the ADA demanded.

"Now that's a match," Drum answered, flipping a nearby folder open. "This is the gun that did all the killing."

The ADA swore a blue streak at the tech, then rounded on the detectives. They knew, up until that point, the case had been a slam dunk. There had been nothing to give even the slightest hint that Daniel Keating was innocent and now… It was illogical for the gun to have prints on it that weren't Keating's unless Keating had no idea it was there. If Danny was involved in a gang, he would be smarter than to have the gun in his house and he'd originally tested negative for gunshot residue when they brought him in. Not to mention that there was no reason for Danny to wipe down the gun and _not_ the rest of the apartment their victim had been found in. They hadn't found bloody clothes in his room, in the laundry or in the garbage either and their victim had been shot execution style at close range. There was no way Danny would have gotten away without getting splashed. They'd check his hands to make sure that there was no mark from the gun slide, but now, Javier was getting excited at the idea that they could be releasing Daniel Keating shortly.

But the ADA was seething. "Do you have a plan B, Detectives?"

"Actually," Javier began, exchanging a look with Ryan. They'd talked about the gang connection as soon as Lanie had mentioned it.

Ryan grinned widely. "We do."

* * *

"Ogle my ass one more time Petland and you'll be the next one I'm carving up in my morgue."

Javier's head shot up from the incident report he was browsing at Lanie's short, clipped tone. Protectiveness washed through him at the idea of someone else looking at his girl but the fire in her eyes as she made her way towards him forced him to tamp it down. Granted, she looked fantastic in short jean shorts and a simple purple t-shirt but she also looked almost murderous. Was it wrong that he thought she looked hot?

"I had an interesting talk with MK today," she said conversationally as she perched on his desk.

"About?" If she wasn't going to bother with preliminaries, neither was he.

Lanie smirked and Javier was reminded that the ME only looked docile and tiny "About the mean, scary guy that planted the gun in Danny's room_ after_ you and Ryan took him into custody."

"After?" Javier's brow arched as he slid his chair over until his leg brushed hers. When he was sure Danny was totally cleared of all charges, he was going to go take a night off to just touch her. It was sappy, yes, and he'd never admit it out loud but their voluntary separation over the duration of the case was starting to take a toll on him like he hadn't anticipated. He needed to clear the kid and soon, so he could get back to building his relationship with the good doctor.

He reached over, tapping the open file on his desk. "We've been looking at the incident report for Danny's shooting," he said. "We haven't found a match on any of the prints or DNA, but that just means the guy's not in the system yet."

"We're thinking it's an initiation," Ryan piped up for the first time. "Rookie wants to prove himself to the big boss, so he shoots a guy to prove his loyalty."

"DA's just filing the paperwork to release Danny," Javier revealed. "Think you could stick around? We figured we'd ask him who would want to frame him and who would want our vic dead?"

Lanie grinned, and Javier mirrored the look. He was surprised when the ME leaned down to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "Just let me call Evelyn. I'm supposed to be at the family barbeque."

Javier couldn't stop himself from watching her ass as she walked away.

"And you call me whipped," Ryan quipped with a laugh.

"Dude," Javier said with a smirk, feeling things starting to look up. "You still take the cake on that one."

* * *

_It's shorter than I'd wanted, which is unfortunate. It's also a building block chapter which is probably not what you wanted. But here it is!_

_I promise to add fluff when I get back from the cottage! I have four pretty new notebooks so there's no way that I can give you an excuse for not having new stuff when I come back!_

_And now that you've read this, you should go read Rick and Kate's fight in Hamptons. You may enjoy that too._


	11. A Gang is Like a Family

**Back in New York**

Chapter 11

_A Gang is Like a Family  
_

. . . . .

Daniel Keating was an obviously scrawny seventeen-year-old and if it wasn't for the fact that all of the evidence they'd collected since arresting the teen had cleared him, Javier could definitely see him as the type who would need to prove himself to a gang. He looked nervous as he sat across from Ryan, his youth representative nowhere in sight. They'd dismissed her, informing her that Danny would have family present. And, admittedly, Javier was counting on that family to get him the answers he was still missing.

Because once he had those answers and his damned murderer in custody, he'd finally be able to drop all of this polite crap he was playing at with Lanie. He hated it. Bitterly. He ran a hand over his head. The last few weeks with only the most polite of interactions had stressed him out more than he'd anticipated and definitely more than he was completely comfortable with. Sure, Lanie had always haunted the back of his mind, but he was a man and a petite curvy body like hers was one that was bound to draw a man's eyes. Now though, he was looking at her as the quickest way of clearing Danny, getting his information and then eradicating the conflict of interest problem they'd run into the minute she'd admitted Evelyn Keating was her cousin.

Her scent wafted into his nostrils and he looked down to find her standing by his side, a determined grin on her face. "I'm ready when you are, Detective."

Javier reached for the doorknob, pausing and turning back to her, leaning close despite the fact that they were in the precinct. "We get the information out of him, I'm taking you out tonight, _cari,_" he murmured and pretended not to see the heat swell in her gaze. Then, he pulled open the door and stepped inside.

It was Lanie that Danny really fixated on first and Javier knew even Ryan caught the distinct relaxing of the boy's body. He turned to the detectives when Lanie took a seat beside him. "I don't understand," Danny said, "I thought I was being released."

"You are," Javier reassured the kid. "We just had new evidence come in that we want to ask you about."

"What kind of new evidence?" Danny asked, immediately wary.

Lanie reached out now, taking the seventeen-year-old's hand. "You're not going to be arrested again, Danny, but MK told me about the guy who put the gun in your room."

Danny swallowed visibly. "How? When? I haven't been home in weeks."

"Which is why we're so… concerned," Ryan spoke up, flipping papers around to close the folder in front of him.

Danny immediately looked to Lanie. The ME sighed. "She said she saw the guy come in after you were arrested. You weren't home. She says the guy looked like the gangbangers that were in the hospital with us when you were shot."

Both Lanie and Danny visibly shook at the reminder and Danny's hand went to his stomach. Javier would bet money that there was a scar under the teenager's hand, a scar that had been given to him by the same guys who were trying to frame him.

Still, it was Lanie's voice that broke Danny's debating silence. "Tell them, Danny," she coaxed gently. "Who would want to frame you?"

There was silence.

"Nobody," Danny finally said. "I made my peace with Marco years ago."

Javier and Ryan had already looked up the information in connection with Danny's shooting, so they didn't need the translation. The 'Marco' Danny was referring to was the intrepid and demanding leader of the local gang.

"Peace?" Ryan asked with an arched eyebrow.

Danny sighed. "Look, Marco and I used to be friends. Like, good friends. He'd come over when his dad hit him, when his mom was passed out, that kind of thing. He got caught up with the gang, I got caught up with honour roll, we went our different ways. A few months back the school assigned him a tutor for English. He moved in with his aunt after his dad got busted for drugs and she's on him a lot more about his school work." He flashed a grin at the confused detectives. "We keep in touch. Anyway, contrary to popular belief, Marco's damned smart-"

"Watch your mouth, Dan," Lanie admonished out of habit, interrupting the flow of the story.

"…And he keeps his grades up," the teenager finished, punctuating it with an eye roll at his aunt. Javier had to bite his cheeks against the laughter.

"So the school assigns him an English tutor and I'm that kid. Marco and I started talking again, pretended we didn't know each other in the hall, but when it was him and I, it was like old times. He apologized about the shooting, said he gave his guys a good old fashioned dressing down for it – which I'd already heard – and I told him I lived and really that was what mattered. See, he's going to get out, go straight, he told me that and I believe him." Danny took a deep breath. "I didn't say anything because I don't know much beyond that. All I know, is Marco and I owe each other, for keeping each other straight and whatever. I don't know his business, he doesn't know mine."

"But you're friends," Javier asked, leaning forward.

Danny shrugged. "Passably."

"What about initiations," Ryan inquired. "Anyone want into the club?"

"With all due respect, Detective, there's always someone who wants in."

"Dan," Lanie jumped in, "Come on. You know someone. Something."

And Javier believed that. He'd caught on to the kid holding back and it wasn't sitting well in his stomach. Still, he could understand Danny's reluctance, especially after the grilling they'd put him through at the beginning of the case.

"We want to get this guy," Lanie said passionately. "We want to put him away for putting you through the wringer on this."

Danny's grin was a quick flash. "Is that before or after you kick his ass, Aunt Lain?"

Javier bit his cheeks against the laughter, but Ryan full out snorted. The glare Lanie shot his way had him clearing his throat to hide the snicker.

"She won't be in on the arrest," Javier answered for her. "She's going to take you home."

Lanie seemed almost affronted, but if he wanted his time with her, Javier knew the arrest had to be utterly and completely clean. They couldn't risk any sort of 'cross-contamination' from her presence.

Danny shrugged. "Let's say Marco told me about his sister, Vickie. Vickie's got a boyfriend that wants an in with Marco. But let's say the guy doesn't know Marco at all, thinks that he's all into the gang lifestyle. So he picks a low-level rival and offs him. Now let's say the gang isn't happy about that, but there's nothing they can do because of Marco's sister, who they're not going to mess with. So what do they do? They find a scapegoat, a good scapegoat since Vickie's close with another girl I tutor."

"You really think you were set up."

Danny's eyes actually hardened, turned cold. "There's no doubt in my mind. And I'm not sure Marco's going to protect him."

* * *

Marco Vincente was a man looking for a way out. Javier had been one of those men, one of those people who just needed to leave the borough. The only difference was that while Javier had chosen the police academy, Marco had chosen drug running, weapons smuggling and gang-related activities. He'd been arrested more than once, served a couple of months in various prisons, all since he was twelve, according to Danny. Now, Javier knew, Marco was turning a new leaf and, apparently, doing it in secret.

He didn't seem nervous as he lounged back in a chair in interrogation, as if he was totally aware that this particular meeting wasn't about him. That, seemed to sit fine, since being hauled in looked good on your gang reputation, regardless of whether or not you were actually charged and arrested. He was perfectly at ease as Javier and Ryan sat across from him.

"You got nothin'," he said, and Javier resisted rolling his eyes at the stereotype.

"We don't want you," Ryan replied, leaning forward. "We want the guy who killed Johnny D."

Marco snorted. "Guy's got no class, going with a nickname that corny."

"Don't care 'bout the nickname either, Marco. We care about the killer."

"And what makes you think I got the info you want?"

Javier leaned forward, mirroring Ryan's position and putting on his best interrogation face. "Let's cut to the chase, shall we? We've got Danny Keating who says the guy who offed Johnny was probably someone lookin' to get in with you. Know anyone who might fit that description?"

"So what if I do?" Marco shrugged as if unaffected.

"We also think you don't care 'bout this kid," Javier continued, ignoring Marco. "He's not one of you and as far as you're concerned, he's never gonna be one of you so long as you run the nest."

Marco continued to just stare, and Javier had been in enough gang interrogations to know when the guy really didn't care. The killer may want in, he realized, but he'd hit it right on the money when he'd told Marco that the gang didn't want him.

"No reason to protect him if he's not gonna be one of you, Marco. We both know that."

Marco pondered a minute, taking in Javier, still leaning over the table, and Ryan who had, in response, leaned back in his chair, arms folded over his chest. "I may know a guy that fits."

"Oh?" Javier replied, arching his eyebrow.

"Pansy, he is, and we call him that." The grin that flashed over Marco's face was cruel. "Kid thinks it's a nickname. He's nowhere near playin' with the big boys."

Now, it was Javier's turn to lean back. "Tell us more."

"Let's put it this way… you want in, you don't flake out. You take the hit when you off a guy, and you don't off a guy without full permission from the higher ups. Johnny wasn't sanctioned."

"So what did you do?"

"To Pansy? Nothin'. He's tight with my sister, so I leave him be. Kid's fifteen and he thinks he's gonna rule the world one day. Yet the kid can't even take credit for the whack?" Marco shook his head. "He ain't worth my time."

Ryan's grin was wide and almost feral as he popped the cap on his pen. "Pansy got a real name, Marco? Because he's certainly worth ours."

* * *

_Yay! Know what this means? More Lanie/Javier! And I've missed them!_

_I did change Danny's age. I discovered that the case took a turn I hadn't originally anticipated when I wrote the first chunk, so I had to edit it and fix the ages. Going all the way back and fixing the rest is on my list of things to do in the next couple of days.  
_

_The next one will be updated when it catches up to Hamptons. The next chapter is another 'crossover' chapter, so it may take a few days. At least assuming I remember what I wrote for the next chapter correctly. _

_Review please? Pretty please?_


	12. Officially Yours

**Back in New York**

Chapter 12

_Officially Yours  
_

. . . . .

Lanie virtually hummed in anxiousness as her BBQ wound down. There was a completely different taste to the air now, one that spoke of relief and contentment with having Danny home safe and sound. Danny had seemed unaffected by the entire thing, laughing and joking with his family, tossing MK in the air and racing around the backyard with the rest of the kids. Lanie was glad that his time in jail, is time being an accused murderer, hadn't really dampened his spirits.

"How's my girl?"

Lanie smiled as she turned and mirrored the kiss her father pecked to her cheek. "Better," she admitted. "Ma?"

Grayson Parish was a tall, built man, sharing Lanie's dark skin tone and easy smile. He took in the strained look of his eldest's face with pride and sympathy. He knew Lanie had been charged with a lot as she'd grown up and it seemed like it had carried through to her life today. There was no other explanation as to why she'd be so keen on protecting Danny, on standing beside Evelyn. "He's fine."

Lanie blew out a breath. "I know."

"It makes your mother happy. Why the long face?"

"Nothing," she replied, flashing a smile at her father. "I'm good. Glad everything can go back to normal."

"Including you and your cop?"

"Dad!" Lanie hissed. "Who say anything about a cop?"

"Evie," Grayson replied with a chuckle. "In between her understandable bouts of hysteria she saw you with the officer working the case."

"Detective," she corrected. "It's good, Dad. I don't want to screw it up."

"You should have invited him."

She laughed. "No. I don't think that would be the best of ideas. You guys are a lot to take in when you're not used to it."

"Can I know his name?"

"So you can give it to Ma and she can do a community background check?" It wouldn't be the first time Claire had butted into her daughter's love life. All it took was a few questions to the right people and Lanie knew her mother could gather every tidbit of information about Javier. She didn't like the idea of her mother knowing things before she did. She shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Your mother means well."

"And I love her to bits, but this is the one place I'm putting my foot down." Her cell ringing caught her attention. "Excuse me."

Grayson smiled as he watched his daughter's face light up, then soften. Whoever this cop was, it was obvious Lanie was quite thoroughly smitten. He was okay with that.

Lanie had put a lot of time, effort and a lot of herself into their family, into keeping things running smoothly and ensuring that her siblings grew up well. There was a part of Grayson that resented the hand fate had dealt his family, first with Alice's cancer, then with Evelyn's. Each time, Lanie had stepped up to the plate, using her connections to get them the best doctors, pulling strings to get favours… to this day, Grayson wasn't sure what lengths his eldest had gone through to ensure the family was okay and whole. But that was over. They were all old enough to fight their own demons and their family network was big enough that Lanie wouldn't always have to step in. More importantly, it meant that Lanie could have her own life, could work on her own relationships and, admittedly, Grayson was happy that there was someone more permanent in her life.

He watched Lanie, the phone pressed to her ear, as she talked in a low voice to the person on the other end. There was a light in her eyes that Grayson knew hadn't been there in a while, as stupid as it sounded. His eldest had had her fair share of boyfriends, yes, but no one she'd brought home had really been able to put that light in her eyes, to make her smile and lower her voice to that intimate tone he couldn't make out over the noise of his family. Lanie had grown up too fast, he sometimes though, and he was glad she was taking time for herself. Which is what spawned his few quick steps to her side. He caught her attention with an easy hand on her shoulder.

"Go," he murmured when she looked up at him. "You deserve the break."

She eyed him for a moment before letting loose a beautiful smile that made his daughter look years younger than the stress lines. "I can come now if you're done," she said into the phone. There was a beat before Grayson watched her entire face soften. "Yeah, I can do that too. I just have to say my goodbyes." The smile stayed on her face as she hung up.

"Go," Grayson urged again with a smile. "I'll make your excuses to Ma."

Lanie's smile was equally as relieved as it was happy. "Thanks, Dad."

Then she was gone. He smiled fondly, remembering those days of early love. His smile widened when two arms wrapped around his stomach. He pulled his wife around until he held her in his arms.

"She left without saying goodbye," Claire said with only the slightest pout.

"She's in love, Claire. Let her have her time."

"In love?" Claire asked, looking up. "You mean I may actually get some grandchildren out of her yet?"

Grayson laughed and kissed his wife's temple. "We can both hope, Darling."

"You know more than you're letting on," Claire accused eyes narrowed.

"Maybe I do, but you know how close our Elaine plays her emotions," Grayson replied. "Come on. Let's go back to our family."

* * *

Javier was surprisingly anxious as he waited for Lanie's knock. It had felt a little bit like a dam they'd had to plug over the last few weeks. He couldn't take her out, hold her, kiss her… and now that the options were on the table Javier found himself missing the freedom. But now… Now, the case was finished, her family was whole again and they were finally going to get the chance to spend the evening as a couple.

And, over the last few weeks, he'd decided that was what he wanted. It had shocked him, at first, the desire to announce their relationship as official, and the need to put a label on what they were doing. Especially with Lanie, someone who mattered to his non-blood family and could screw up _everything_. But he enjoyed spending time with her, enjoyed her sharp wit and sarcastic humour. He liked that he could see her mind at work, that their jobs – one of the things he was positive had affected both of them and their relationships – weren't the usual detriment it had been in the past.

He tried not to jump up when the knock sounded on his door and forced himself to take even steps. Out of habit, he peeked through the peephole and grinned. Lanie was there, bouncing on her toes and it made him feel almost relieved to know she was as anxious to see him as he was to see her. He forced himself to open the locks methodically, his brain running over a handful of flirty and witty greetings. All of them fled when he pulled open the door and looked at her in the flesh.

Instead of a witty remark, Javier yanked her through the door and fastened his mouth to hers. She stumbled into his body and he wrapped an arm around her lower back to steady her as he shoved the door closed. It was Lanie, hands having balled a handful of his t-shirt in each fist, that pulled him back to take advantage of the support of the door. He took advantage, pressing his body weight fully against her petite form and snaking his fingers under the edge of her sweater. He thrilled when her breath hitched and her hands stuttered, but he had the presence of mind to recognize that they were both losing control. Lanie eased their kiss, recognizing his intentions, as he moved his hands over the sweater, smoothing it back down again.

Her eyes were glazed when they fluttered open and her swollen mouth turned up in a dreamy grin. "They teach you that in the Academy, Detective?"

There was relief as well as amusement in his responding laugh. He took her hand, tugging her to the couch. "Can I get you anything?"

"Oh yeah," she said with a slow, sexy grin. "More of that." She settled on the couch. "But water will be just fine for now."

His blood pounded through his veins as he watched her curl up in the corner of his couch, that smile almost too much to resist. "Sure thing."

"My family says thank you," she began when he returned to the room and handed her a tall glass. "We're in your debt for what you did for Danny."

"I did my job, Lain," he replied, reaching for her hand.

Lanie's short curls bounced as she shook her head and squeezed his hand. "You dug deeper. Most cops wouldn't have gone through all of that to prove Danny's innocence. Most people would have seen the case as a gift on a silver platter and closed it." She squeezed his hand again when he opened his mouth. "Just say you're welcome."

Javier leaned towards her until his mouth just brushed hers. "You're welcome, Cariño."

Lanie shivered pleasantly as they kissed slowly, and grinned when they parted. "You're already so well trained."

He laughed with her, extracting the water glass from her hand and setting it on the coffee table to kiss her properly. The implications of her statement weren't lost on him as he lost himself in her. It was corny, but he'd _missed_ her. He leaned back into the couch cushions, pulling her with him until she rested on top of him. He intensified the kiss, burrowing her hands in her hair to hold her steady while he plundered her mouth. She responded, matching his every move with equal passion.

When the ringing started, they both took a few minutes to realize it.

Lanie was the first one to pull back with a groan, realizing it was her phone trilling a familiar tune. Javier kept his hand in her hair, holding her close.

"Ignore it," he murmured imploringly.

"Can't," she replied, closing her eyes as he trailed his mouth down her neck. "Javi…"

"Come on, Querida," he said into her neck.

Lanie shivered, both from the new endearment that made her heart beat faster and from the breath across her neck. "I wish I could," she replied, pulling his head up for a gentle kiss. "But that's Kate's ringtone."

Slightly placated that it wouldn't be work calling her away, he released her, grinning when she stumbled slightly towards her purse. He leaned up, supporting himself on his elbows as he watched Lanie answer the phone and wander back towards him. He watched her face contort in concern as she returned to the couch. He moved until he was sitting, giving her room to sit beside him.

"Alexis exploded," she murmured, apology written all over her face. "I have to take this."

Javier pressed a kiss to her cheek then stood and headed for the kitchen. He couldn't be upset, not really. Lanie was a good friend to his surrogate sister, and it was one of the things he admired about the ME. If she needed some time to talk to Kate, he wasn't about to try and distract her just yet. Plus, the look on her face told him that it was a serious problem, and not something that could be shrugged off.

It took her about fifteen minutes before she came and found him in the kitchen, elbow deep in soapsuds as he did his dishes. They'd been sorely neglected due to the case and she smiled at the domesticity of the moment. He looked over at her with a half-smile as she approached.

"Everything okay?"

Lanie's smile was small but there. "I think they will be." She picked up a dishtowel.

"You don't have to do that, Lain."

She chuckled. "You're going to fill the dish rack and then what are you gonna do?" she replied, picking up one of the dishes. The fell into a rhythm, working in silence for a few minutes and Javier found himself reflecting on wanting her here more often. He liked seeing her in his space, standing beside him, her scent wafting into his nostrils. She moved with flawless grace beside him, piling plates and organizing cutlery.

That broke his resolve. He turned to her, leaning his hip on the counter.

"Be my girlfriend."

Lanie almost dropped the plate she was drying in surprise. "What?"

"Be my girlfriend," he repeated. "We've talked about moving towards something more official and I want that. I want the labels, I want to be able to tell Ryan, I want to know that it's you and me and no one else… I want it to be real." He paused for a split second, his heart in his throat. "I want you."

With careful movements, she set the plate down and tucked the dishtowel into a nearby handle. If he was honest, it was making him anxious to watch her move so deliberately. She stepped closer to him, and he had to look down because she'd slipped off her heels while on the phone. Her head tilted up.

"It is real," she said finally. "And I want you too." Then, it was her turn to pause, her eyes warming. "Yes. I want to be your girlfriend."

He kissed her then, holding her head back with a hand once again woven through her curls. He loved the feel of her against him.

"I missed you," she whispered when he pulled away to press kisses down her neck again. "It was hard to stay away."

He pulled away, his hand coming up to cup her check while his thumb stroked over her cheekbone. His eyes were intense as he looked down at her, absorbing her face. "I missed you too."

* * *

_So, those of you who read Hamptons know I've been struggling with what to do with this. I was trying to decide between ending this and starting a second one or just continuing through this one. And I've made my decision. This is ending here. Literally. There's no more chapters. They've battled through their first obstacle, their relationship is official and everything is settled, at least for the time being. Having said that, (and SERIES SPOILER that isn't show related) there's another installment to the Caskett side of things that'll be coming post-Hamptons and then another installment of this series once this is finished. So yes, there will be a sequel to this. Because it will take place at least months after this one, it made more sense to stop this story and pick up the next one further down the line. I felt that the jump would have been too big for this story._

_So! Story over: yes. Sequel: yes. Quality summary, eh?_

_Review and let me know your thoughts please. I've had a lot of fun playing with Javier and Lanie and I'm excited to (eventually) start working on the sequel. That one's going to explore more of Javier instead of Lanie. _

_Most importantly, thank you to everyone who's left a line on this one. As I said, it's been fun, but it's been a real challenge, so your response has been especially heart-warming as I worked my way through kinks and the blank slate that Javier and Lanie present. I hope you enjoyed yourself, and I definitely appreciate every single review you guys have left in my inbox. It means the world to have followers :)_


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